The Future is Just Beginning
by emmariley20
Summary: An Emily/Andrew AU fic based off of 15x07 for those who want a happy ending for Emily that just might include motherhood.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello readers! This is my first story. I've wanted more Prentiss/Mendoza stories for a while, so I decided to take matters into my own hands.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, story lines, etc. of Criminal Minds. Just a fan writing a story.

* * *

"What I want is you." Andrew states as he reaches for my hand. "I want us. But right now, it feels like you're pulling away."

I can't deny that, so I say nothing, keeping my head down.

"Are we breaking up?" He whispers.

"No." I respond immediately, my eyes lifting to find his. "That's not what I want."

"Then what do you want? Tell me. I'll do it." It's breaking him not to know what's going on in my head, I can tell.

"I know I've been pulling away and we do need to talk. I can't do this here though, not when I have to walk back on that door and focus on the case." He sighs, clearly disappointed but nods his head and pulls me into a hug.

"I do love you." I utter against his chest. He pulls back just enough to look at my face before leaning in for a kiss. I let it linger, trying to pour every ounce of love into it. I may be scared as hell and I may not be able to give him the verbal reassurance he wants just yet, but I'm trying to be hopeful that we'll make it through this.

**####**

"I do understand. I know what it's like to have someone you love stuck in another world. Wanting one thing. Having another, but really having neither. Afraid to face the truth. But Kyle, you have to face the truth."

I may have been trying to talk down the subject, but I'd be lying if I didn't think my subconscious was talking to myself.

Three hours later the team was finished with the preliminary paperwork and headed to the jet to fly home. I, on the other hand, was headed to Andrew's house. It was time to face the truth and have a conversation. To tell him my hopes as well as my fears.

Knocking on his front door I quickly questioned my decision not to call ahead. I could hear him talking to someone on the other side.

"Hey!" He greeted in surprise as he opened the door. "I thought you left."

"The team did, but I wasn't quite ready to leave. I was hoping we could have dinner, but I can hear you have guests."

"It's just Keely and I. We were about to sit down to dinner."

"Of course. I didn't mean to intrude, I'm sorry." Internally I'm kicking myself. Of course, his daughter would be here, that's why he moved to Denver in the first place. I start to turn around, ready to leave.

"Wait," He reaches for my hand to stop me. "I'd really like it if you joined us."

I smile, turning back around fully. "I'd love that."

He moves to the side to allow me entrance into the house. As I glance around, I am overcome with a sense of comfort. The house is warm and inviting, the living room simplistic with a plush tan couch and wooden coffee table covered in textbooks. The first clear sign of Keely's presence in the house.

Andrew leads me into the dining room, pulling out an extra plate and silverware set as he explains that Keely went to change out of her practice clothes and will be down in a moment. I nod, staring off into space a bit. Despite the face that fact that Andrew and I have been dating for over a year, I have yet to meet Keely. When Andrew was in DC, Keely was already in Denver with her mom. Andrew finally got a transfer a few months ago and this is the first I've been to Denver since then.

The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs bring me back to the present. Keely steps into the room, moving in front of Andrew as he beckons her over. Setting his hands on her shoulders he introduces us.

"Emily, this is Keely. Keely, Emily." He gestures to me. Keely's smile is bright as she reaches a hand out in greeting.

"It's nice to meet you, Keely. Your dad has told me so much about you." I shake her hand, my nerves disappearing.

"Likewise." She looks me up and down, then tilts her head up at her father. "Wow dad, you did not oversell it."

"Keely." Andrew raises an eyebrow, his tone half warning half playful.

"What?!" Keely smirks as she rounds the table to take her place.

I laugh and give Andrew a grin as he pulls a chair out for me to sit. I reach for his hand as he takes the seat next to me, squeezing lightly in hopes of conveying a sense of peace. We still have yet to talk, but the night is already off to a good start and I'm hopeful it will continue.

**####**

Dinner did, in fact, remain wonderful. Keely was sweet, funny and intelligent. She expressed no hesitancy or dismay at the idea of getting to know me. In fact, she invited me to come to her tennis match with Andrew the next morning if I planned to still be in town.

Once Keely was in bed, Andrew led me over to the sofa, pulling me against his side.

"That went ok, I think."

"Better than ok, she loved you." Andrew stated as he flipped a blanket over our laps.

I laid my head against his shoulder. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too." He took a deep breath. "Not that I want to ruin a great evening, but can we please talk about whatever has been bothering you?"

"I'm scared." I whisper.

"Scared of what, love?" His fingers start slowly running up and down my arm, over my sweater, in a move to comfort me.

"How much I love you. I haven't let myself get this close to someone in a long time. I'm scared because the thought of quitting my job to be here with you isn't scary, and I feel like it should be. I've put in a lot of work to get to where I am now and I love the BAU and the team." Already I am getting teary eyed and I haven't even confessed my biggest fear.

"Hey, shh." Andrew's voice is soothing. "If you aren't ready to leave the BAU yet, you don't have to. Yes, I want you here, but I would never ask you to do something you don't want. We can make this work."

_But I do want to,_ I think to myself. "Andrew I…" I pause, taking a deep breath. Here goes nothing. "I'm pregnant."

His fingers stop moving on my arm, so I pull back to look at this face. I'm prepared for the worst. We didn't plan on this. In fact, I was on birth control to prevent this and Andrew knows that.

"Say that again?" He whispers, his face void of any emotion.

"I'm pregnant." I swallow, searching his eyes, his face for anything to show how he feels. I'm a profiler for heaven's sake but I can't tell a damn thing.

Suddenly, he's beaming. He places a hand on my stomach, looking down and rubbing lightly. "We're having a baby?"

"Mmhmm." I manage, unable to articulate anything more. How is he so happy? I've been terrified since the day I found out two weeks ago.

He looks back up at me and senses my hesitancy. His brow furrows. "You're not happy about this?"

"Andrew, I'm 42. I've always wanted to be a mother, but I accepted years ago that it wasn't in the cards for me. Now, there is an increased chance of premature birth, chromosomal defects, miscarry…" My words are cut off with a kiss, Andrew placing his hands on each side of my face. We rest our foreheads against one another as we pull apart.

"I'm terrified." My voice cracks, emotions and hormones running high.

"I won't say that your fears aren't valid, but we will face those if and when the time comes. But God, Em, we're having a baby."

I can feel him smile, pulling back to look at his face. I can't deny his happiness is contagious. "We're having a baby," I confirm, nodding and smiling lightly.

"We're having a baby." He whispers one last time before pulling me into a hard, deep kiss. It's all I can do to keep from moaning. The distance between us has been so big the past couple weeks, literally and figuratively, and even though I built that rift, I still missed him. Now that everything is out, I just want him. His tongue slips past my lips and I savor the taste and feel of him.

He pulls me across his lap so I am straddling him and my desire increases tenfold as I can feel him hard and ready. "Keely?" I inquire breathlessly as we pull apart for air.

"Her bedroom is upstairs, mine is right there." He points to a cutout in the room where a door is pulled almost fully closed. "She also sleeps like a log."

I bite my lip in a smile, crawling off his lap and letting him take my hand to lead me towards his room.


	2. Chapter 2

Once the bedroom door is closed, Andrew wastes no time ridding us of our clothes. He runs his lips down my neck as we make our way to the bed. As the back of my legs hit the mattress, Andrew draws a nipple into his mouth, sucking hard. In any other circumstance it would've been a turn on, but now it causes a sharp hiss to fall from my lips. He pulls back immediately, looking into my eyes, clearly concerned.

"Pregnancy symptom. They're just a little tender." I start to explain. "You don't have to avoid them entirely, it just uh, doesn't take much." He suddenly looks nervous, like he's scared to continue and that's not what I want so I turn us around and push him back onto the bed, crawling on top of him to straddle his hips.

"I know this is new territory, and I'm sure this is just the beginning of learning how my body is going to change, but it has been 2 months. I want you."

He stops me as I lean in for a kiss, my lips millimeters from his. "Just promise you'll tell me if something hurts."

"I promise. Now shut up and kiss me."

He doesn't waste another second, our lips meeting in an open-mouthed kiss. I whimper as his hips thrust upwards against me. After a minute of hot kisses I reached my hand down, lining him up with my opening and sink down.

I gasp as he fills me. "Fuck, I missed you." Sitting up with my hands splayed against his firm chest, I rock slowly back and forth. His hands settle on my hips, helping me move. I tilt my head back in ecstasy as he raises his hips, meeting me thrust for thrust and hitting just the right spot inside.

"You're so beautiful." I look back down and smile at him, finding his eyes bright. God, I love this man. I lean down, finding his lips in a passionate, tongue filled kiss. One of his hands leaves my hip and I moan as his thumb finds my clit, rubbing slow circles.

It doesn't take long after that, burying my face into his neck as I come. He thrusts a few more times before I feel him finish inside. We stay like that for a moment, catching our breath.

**####**

Twenty minutes later we're settling back into bed, having freshened up a bit. With Keely in the house, Andrew slid on a pair of pajama pants. Since my go bag was still in the back of the rental car parked outside, Andrew lent me one of his t-shirts to wear.

Crawling back under the sheets, I settled against his side with my head on his chest as his hand ran up and down my spine. "I'm glad you're here." He said quietly.

"Me too."

"How long can you stay? Keely's match starts at 8:30am tomorrow. She meant it when she said you'd be more than welcome and I know I'd love to have you there."

"I'd love to go watch her. You always talk about how great she and the team are, it would be nice to see it in person. As for how long I can stay, I have a flight booked for tomorrow afternoon. We still need to talk some more, but no matter what we decide I have to go back to DC, at least for a little while."

"I know. We'll figure it out." He places a kiss on the top of my head.

"So, what time do we have to leave in the morning?"

"I have to get Keely to warm-ups by 7:30am and we're picking up her doubles partner on the way, so probably 6:45am."

I cringe. "That should be illegal on a Saturday."

Andrew chuckles lightly. "Says the woman who leaves or gets in from cases at all hours of the night."

"Yeah, but on my days off I take full advantage of sleeping in."

"How about I swing back after I drop the girls off. That way you don't have to be ready until 8am. Sound good?"

"That sounds perfect. Thank you!" I tilt my head up, kissing the underside of his jaw.

"You're welcome. Now get some sleep, my love. It's late, or should I say early."


	3. Chapter 3

Andrew was right to brag about Keely and her team. They were every bit as good as he described. Keely and her doubles partner, Maria, won their match 6-3, 6-1 and hardly seemed to break sweat. As we sat on the bleachers to watch, Andrew explained that Maria and Keely were not only doubles partners but best friends. The pair's other best friend, Natalie, played #1 singles for the team.

"If we're all together in Denver when the baby is born, we'll practically have three built in babysitters. Those girls are always together." Andrew remarked as Keely and Maria moved off the court to join their teammates.

"Do you think Keely will be ok with the idea of a sibling? I mean, she finally got you out to Denver and here I come along with pending baby in tow." The thought of Keely and how she may respond played a significant part of my fears the past two weeks.

Andrew took a deep breath, seeming to hesitate on how best to respond. "I think she will love being a big sister, but I wouldn't be surprised if we have some hurdles to climb in making sure she doesn't feel replaced or neglected. There have been some big things that have come up with Keely and her mom the past couple weeks."

Whatever it is, I can tell by the look on his face it isn't good. Suddenly, the fears that have slowly been dissipating since last night are returning full force. Just as Andrew is about to speak again, a voice from behind pulls me away.

"Emily! You came!" Keely is there, with Maria and Natalie close behind.

"Hey!" I put a smile on my face, only half having to force it, because the fact that she sounds genuinely happy that I came is heartwarming. "You guys played great! If we're counting things your dad didn't oversell, your tennis skills definitely make the list."

"Thank you!" Keely smiles, turning back towards Maria and Natalie. "Guys, this is my dad's girlfriend, Emily. Emily, these are my friends Maria and Natalie."

"Pleasure to meet you, ladies. It was fun to watch you all play this morning."

"Thanks!" Maria and Natalie reply simultaneously.

"Congratulations on your win, girls. Keely, great job with your backhand this morning. Those lessons with coach Lucas are really paying off." Andrew says from behind me.

"Thanks, dad. Hey, is it ok if I go to Maria's for a bit? Her mom offered to drive us and said she can bring me back home later."

Andrew looks to Maria, who nods, confirming what Keely said is accurate. "Sure, you girls have fun. Keely, text me if you end up needing a ride home."

"Awesome! You're the best, dad!" Keely bends down to drop a quick peck on Andrew's cheek. "Bye, Emily!" She says as she runs off with her friends.

"So, lunch?" Andrew inquires. "I know a great Thai restaurant not far from here."

"Thai sounds amazing, but can we do carryout? We have a lot to talk about and I think we should take advantage of Keely being out of the house for a bit."

"Good idea."

**####**

"So, what's going on with Keely and her mom?" I ask as I unload takeout containers onto the kitchen island.

"I don't know if I mentioned this, but Michelle started seeing someone about 6 months ago." Andrew began, taking a seat on the barstool next to mine. I nod, vaguely remembering him saying something about Keely not being a fan of the guy. "Well, from what Keely has told me about him, he's young, rich, and a fan of the night life. Michelle was a free spirit when I met her in college. A bit wild, but when Keely was born, she matured. Ever since I got to Denver, Michelle has been cancelling on her nights with Keely. At first, she said she just wanted Keely and I to make up for the time I was in DC, but last week she came by while Keely was at tennis practice."

He sighs and as I look into his eyes, I can see a mix of anger and sadness. "She said she wants to sign over sole custody to me. That this Brandon guy has reminded her why she never wanted kids to begin with, that she doesn't want to be tied down."

My heart breaks. "Oh Andrew."

"It's like I don't even know her anymore. I know she never understand my job, and she wasn't happy with me, but I've always thought she was a decent mother. I don't get how that changed so fast, how she has become so blind to Keely." He takes a deep breath. "I asked her to take some time, to really think about what she's saying, but she said she wants to meet with a lawyer next week."

"I'm so sorry." I say, running my hand down his arm.

"Me too." He whispers. "But hey, I guess on the bright side, if she really does relinquish her rights we can talk about Keely and I moving back to DC."

"Oh, honey no. Keely seems happy here with her friends, and she's going to be in high school come fall. Take it from someone who moved almost every year as a child, it's not easy being the new kid in high school. Besides, you said you love your new job at the Denver field office."

"So, you'd really move out here for us?"

"I've been thinking a lot about my job the past two weeks. I love the BAU, but I don't want to be like Hotch. Traveling all the time for cases, barely getting to see my kid. And even before I found out I was pregnant, I realized how much I wanted to be with you. It was hard enough to find time together when we were both in DC, but since you moved to Denver, it has been torture."

Andrew nods his head. "I know. Long distance is harder than I thought it would be."

"When I get back to DC, I'm going to start looking for a new unit chief. I think I know who I want for the job, but I need to see if it is something she wants and there would have to be a transition period. I was hoping that maybe I can be out here for good by the end of July."

"Two and a half more months. I'll count down the days." He smiled and leaned in for a kiss, which I happily indulged.


	4. Chapter 4

I woke up early the next morning, still on DC time. Andrew was spooned behind me, his arm resting over my waist. I smiled, savoring the feel of him, unclothed. After some heated foreplay in the tub last night and two rounds in bed, we'd both been far too tired to find pajamas. The door was shut and locked and Andrew wasn't worried.

Slowly, I reached a hand over to the nightstand, unplugging my phone from the charger. I responded to a few emails and was checking in for my flight when I felt Andrew stir behind me.

"Good morning." He whispered groggily, tightening his hold on my waist and dropping kisses into my hair.

"Mmm, hello." I smiled, setting my phone back down and laying my hand over his arm, letting my fingers run up and down his skin.

"All checked in for this afternoon?" He must've seen my phone screen.

"Yeah, it's weird having to do that. I haven't flown commercial in a while." I sighed, the thought of leaving not one I wanted to entertain at the moment.

"I was thinking, Keely is done with school in two weeks. What if we come out to visit?"

"If you want to do that, I could reschedule my OB appointment. That way you can come."

"I would love that. I'll talk to Keely and look at flights tomorrow."

"Do you want to tell her about the baby before I go, or would you prefer to have that conversation alone?"

He started drawing slow circles on my stomach. "I think I need to talk to her about her mom first, before I tell her about the baby. I don't want you to think you and the baby aren't a priority, I just want to ease her into everything. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. Keely comes first, and that's how it should be right now."

"You're amazing, you know that?"

I turned my head to look at him. "You're pretty amazing yourself." I said before drawing him into a kiss. Andrew ran his tongue along my bottom lip and I opened, moaning when I felt his tongue slide against my own. As the kiss deepened, Andrew's hand moved across my hip and down my thigh. My breath hitched and my legs instinctively spread open wider as his fingers teased further inward.

"A little eager." Andrew remarked with a smirk.

"Please." I gasped as he brushed a finger against my clit before dipping down inside of me.

"Damn babe, you're already so wet." He continued pumping his finger in and out, quickly adding a second and using his thumb to rub my clit. I reached a hand back between us, wrapping my fingers around his cock. Pumping slowing up and down, Andrew groaned as I used my thumb to spread the bit of precum around his tip.

I lifted my leg, resting it atop his and scooting further back against him. He pulled his fingers out, bringing them to his mouth to clean them off, then reached back down to line himself up. He slid inside slowly, giving me time to adjust before finding a steady pace. I reached my arm back, placing my hand behind his head and pulling him in for another heated kiss.

One slight movement had him hitting just the right spot and I pulled my mouth away, gasping. "Oh god, baby. Don't stop, please don't stop."

"I wouldn't dream of it." He slid his hand down, finding my sensitive nub and rubbing in time with his thrusts. "Come for me, babe."

**####**

After a second round in the shower, we dressed to go out. Keely recommended the night before that we go to Ivy on 7th for brunch, claiming it was the absolute best cafe in Denver and explaining that the owner had competed on Chopped.

Instead of waiting until tomorrow, Andrew decided to propose the DC visit to Keely during the meal. She was instantly on board, claiming she missed eating ice cream on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and would love to go to a Nationals game again.

With their upcoming visit all but booked, saying goodbye in the airport didn't seem so bad. As I watched Denver disappear from my view on the plane, I was far more optimistic about the future than I had been when I arrived.


	5. Chapter 5

When I landed in DC, I texted Tara and asked if she could come into the office early the next morning. She immediately responded that she would be there, with coffee in hand. But before I had that meeting, I knew there were three people I needed to speak with first. I started with JJ, wanting her to be the first person, outside of Andrew, to hear the news. After texting to confirm she was available, I drove over to her house and knocked on the door.

"Hey, Emily!" Will greeted, letting me inside. "JJ just put Henry down for bed, she'll be down in a second. Feel free to make yourself at home."

"Thanks, Will!" I made my way over to the couch, smirking at the bottle of wine and clean glasses on the coffee table that I know JJ put out for us. I guess making my announcement will be easier than I thought. Sure enough, as soon as JJ came back downstairs, she curled up on the couch and reached for the bottle.

"Before you pop that, you should know you'll be the only one drinking." I told her.

JJ tilted her head at me, then her eyes went wide. "No way!" I smiled, nodding. "You're pregnant? How far along?"

"8 weeks 6 days."

"That's specific." JJ laughed.

"Well, let's just say it was easy to pinpoint when it happened." I smirked.

JJ was silent for a moment. "Well, come on, do tell." I laughed; she was as bad as Garcia.

"I won't give the dirty details, but do you remember that week in March when I came down with the flu?" She nodded. "Well, it's hard for birth control to work when you're throwing it up. It was the night before Andrew was leaving for Denver and I was feeling marginally better. Andrew said he didn't care if I was still contagious, we didn't know how long it would be until we saw each other again and we were having sex even if it meant he spent his first days in Denver with the flu."

JJ laughed. "I don't blame him."

"Yeah, neither did I at the time." I smirked, remembering fondly the events of that evening.

"But you do now?" JJ asked.

"No, not really. I'll admit I'm still a little nervous about the pregnancy." I started to twist my fingers. "I'm old, and I'm worried something will go wrong, but mostly I'm excited. I've always wanted to be a mother."

"You'll be an amazing mother." JJ reached out and covered my hands with hers.

"Thank you." I took a deep breath. "Listen, that's not the only reason I wanted to come over tonight. I'm going to move out to Denver."

JJ gives a sad smile. "I figured as much when you said you were pregnant."

"I love the BAU and I love the team. You guys are my family, but Keely is settled in Denver now and I wouldn't want to continue as unit chief after I have the baby anyway and…"

"Em, it's ok. You don't have to explain yourself. The BAU will be ok, and we're still your family even if you're in Denver. You can expect lots of visitors when the little one is born."

I smiled. "I wanted to talk to you about the unit chief position. I have someone in mind, but I wanted to hear your thoughts."

"Well if you're looking to hire internally, I would recommend Tara without question." I shake my head, reveling at how like minded we can be sometimes. "I'm guessing by the look on your face you were thinking the same thing."

"I was, I just wanted to make sure you would be ok with the decision."

"What, because I've been there longer? Emily, we both know the unit chief position wouldn't be fitting for me. It'd take even more time away from Henry and Will than the job already does, not that I'm complaining. I love my work, but I don't need to add to it, I'm happy where I am." She tilts her head. "Let me guess, you're planning to meet with Rossi and Spence to have similar conversations." I nod. "Rossi's too close to retirement age and Spencer, for all his brilliance, doesn't have all the qualities necessary to be unit chief. They both know that and they aren't going to be offended that you didn't choose them."

Tears are forming in my eyes at how well JJ knows me, so easily able to read my thoughts and quell my fears about hurting anyone's feelings. "I'm going to miss you." I whisper, wiping a tear that manages to fall down my cheek.

"Emily Prentiss crying?" JJ laughs, lightening the mood.

"I blame the pregnancy hormones."

"I'm going to miss you, too." JJ says, pulling me into a hug. "When do you leave?" She asks as we pull apart.

"I told Andrew I'd be out there by the end of July."

"So, we have two more months of girl's nights, though clearly we're going to have to change our activities. Have you told Penelope yet?"

"No, I figured I should invest in some earmuffs first." I joked.


	6. Chapter 6

My conversations with Rossi and Spencer were much the same. They congratulated me, laughed off my concern for their feelings, and expressed their sentiments about me moving to Denver.

The next morning, Tara was waiting in my office when I walked in. "Good morning!" I greeted, closing the door behind me as I entered.

"Hey! How was your extended stay in Denver?"

"It was really good, much needed." I spot the cup of coffee waiting for me. "Oh, you're a goddess. Thank you for this!" Sitting down, I take a sip.

"No problem. So, what's going on that you wanted me in early? Do we have a new case?" Tara inquired, leaning back in the chair and taking a swig of her own coffee.

"Actually, I have a proposal for you. I'll cut right to the chase. I'm pregnant and I'm going to be moving to Denver to live with Andrew."

"Emily, that's wonderful! Congratulations!"

"Thank you!" I folded my hands on my desk. "That means however, that I will be stepping down as unit chief. I'd really like it if you would consider taking the position."

Tara's jaw dropped and she was silent for a minute before responding. "I can't tell you how honored I am that you would consider me but are you sure? I mean, there are a lot of people that have been with the BAU a lot longer and I'm sure are far more qualified."

"You're right, there are people that have been here longer and a few of them are qualified. Unit chief is a big responsibility though, and it's not a position any of them are looking to take on. You've been here 4 years, Tara. I may not have been here personally when you first started, but I kept in touch with everyone until my return enough to know that you've done great work since day one. You have the skills necessary to lead this team, and I know they'd be grateful to have someone they already know and trust taking over once I'm gone. I understand if you need some time to think about it, but if you could let me know by the end of the week, I'd really appreciate it."

"Of course, I'll let you know." Tara said, standing and reaching out her hand. "Thank you, Emily. I really appreciate the offer."

"It is much deserved." I reply, shaking her hand. "Also, if we could keep this on the down low until you've come to a decision. Not everyone on the team knows I'm leaving yet."

"Understood. I'll see you at the round table later this morning."

**####**

An hour later, JJ popped her head in the office. "Hey, you got a minute?"

"Of course, come in."

"So, how did this morning go?"

"She's taking some time to think about it, but I'm confident she'll take the position."

"Good! So, I was thinking about how you have yet to tell Penelope about, you know…" She gestures to my stomach.

"Any ideas on how to break the news?"

"One. I was rummaging through Henry's closet after you left last night and found a onesie that Garcia got him when he was born. It's too small for him now, obviously, but it was one of the few I kept in case we ever had a second. I thought you could use it." She pulls a light gray onesie from her bag handing it to me. I look over to make sure she shut the door before holding it up in front of me. In white, flowy writing are the words _If you mess with me, you mess with my aunt (and you DON'T want to mess with her). _

"Oh, that's good. That's really good." I laugh at the accuracy of the words. Garcia is the last person on the planet you want to mess with.

"That's what I thought. So, I brought a gift bag and some tissue paper. What do you say we make a visit to our favorite tech lair?"

"Let's do it." I stand up, finishing the last drink of my coffee before rounding the desk. JJ pulls out a plain white gift bag and wraps the onesie in orange tissue paper, placing it inside and adding some extra tissue paper for filler.

We wander down the stairs, out of the bullpen and down the hall to Garcia's office. Sliding my ID card for access, I open the door and Garcia turns around in her chair, greeting JJ and I with a bright smile. "Good morning, my lovelies. To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing your beautiful faces?" Then she spots it, the gift bag in JJ's hand. "Ooh, presents! For whom? For what? Did I miss somebody's birthday, I thought I had them all in my calendar!"

"Actually, it's for you." I say, taking the bag from JJ and passing it to Penelope.

"For moi? My, my, what's the occasion?"

"It's a surprise." I smirk.

Penelope start to pull the tissue paper out of the bag. "Get ready." JJ smiles at me, covering her ears.

"Oh my god. Oh my god. You, you're… ahhh!" Penelope screams in delight, dropping the bag on the ground, onesie still in hand, and pulling me into a tight hug. Tight enough that it was getting difficult to breath.

"Penelope, I need air." I laugh.

"Oh, oh right. Of course, I don't want to hurt the baby. Oh my gosh, the baby. You're pregnant. We get another BAU baby! Wait." She pauses, and I can see the moment it hits her. "It's Andrew's?"

"Yes, it's his." I know what's coming next.

"That means… you're leaving us, aren't you?"

"I'll be joining him in Denver at the end of July."

"Oh, my gumdrop." She pulls me into another hug, this one not as tight, but all the more sentimental. Pulling back, Penelope wipes a tear from her eye. "Ok, ok. I will not cry. Not yet. I will soak up your time here, I will come visit as often as I can and you better come back and visit us too."

"I will, I promise."

"I'll be glad that Penelope will have two munchkins to split her spoiling nature between." JJ jokes, trying to shift the mood.

"Oh, if you think that means I'll lay off of Henry, you're sorely mistaken." Penelope looks around my shoulder at JJ, who just laughs.

"I just hope the closets at Andrew's place are big." JJ remarks.

Furrowing my brow, I recall the last time I was in Henry's room. Henry has a decent sized walk in closet, and the one in JJ's room is twice that size. "The closets at _your_ place are big."

"Yeah, not big enough. Half of Henry's wardrobe is in the guest room closet." My mouth drops open in disbelief. "Uh huh, get ready sister." JJ chuckles.

**####**

Tara stops by at lunch, officially confirming she is accepting my offer. By the end of the day, everyone on the team is aware of my pregnancy and the fact that Tara will be transitioning into the role as unit chief.

As I'm packing up my bag to head home for the evening, my phone buzzes. Picking it up off the desk I am surprised to see who is calling. "Derek Morgan." I answer.

"Princess. How you been? How is life at the BAU?"

"I'm good, the BAU is good. We miss you. How are Savannah and Hank?"

"They're amazing. That's actually part of why I'm calling. A little birdy told me you're moving to Denver."

I laugh. "Uh huh, end of July. I'm assuming little birdy told you why?"

"So that Hank has a playmate of course."

That wasn't quite the response I expected. "Umm, it's a little hard to have a playmate across state lines. But we'd be glad to have you out to visit."

"Oh, but you won't have to cross state lines. Savannah and I are moving to Denver next month. Garcia didn't tell you?"

"Shut the front door! No, she did not."

"Yeah, Savannah accepted a position as head of University of Colorado Health's department of pulmonology. It's a teaching hospital, so she'll be working with med students from the university. I broke the news to Garcia last week when we finalized our move in date. We wanted to get settled in before the semester starts on August 1st for the students."

"Derek Morgan, you just made my night. It will be so nice to have some family in the area."

"That's what I was thinking. I didn't even know Andrew had moved out there."

"Two months ago, yeah. His daughter, Keely, is there."

"That's awesome. Well, I got to get Hank into the bath. I just wanted to call and tell you about the move."

"Give Savannah and Hank my love. I'll catch up with you again soon."

"Will do. And hey, congratulations mama!"

"Thanks, Derek!"


	7. Chapter 7

Before I knew it, two weeks had passed and I was prepping for dinner with Andrew, who had flown in earlier that afternoon. His younger sister, Megan, lived in Baltimore and when she heard Keely was coming along had asked if she could steal her for a girl's night. Knowing it would give us some time alone, he eagerly agreed to drive her up once they landed. Checking on the salmon, I heard a knock at the door.

"Hello!" I greeted, one hand on the door and one on the frame, blocking his entrance.

"Hello, beautiful. Am I allowed to come inside?" He chuckled.

"Mm mm," I shook my head. "Not until you give me the password."

"Hmm, password." He pretended to think for a moment before leaning in. "Is it this?" He closed the distance between us and placed a lingering kiss on my lips.

"That'll work." I smiled, letting him in.

Setting his bags inside, he closed the door behind him before drawing me in for a hug. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too." I breathed him in, the smell of his sandalwood cologne filling my lungs. His head dipped down, placing feather light kisses down my neck. I tipped my head to the side, allowing him better access, groaning as he sucked lightly on my pulse point. I pulled away then, chuckling lightly.

"Dinner is almost ready, and I'm not letting this one burn. Baby is hungry."

"Mmm, I can't argue with that one, now can I?"

"Nope." I smirked, taking his hand and leading him into the kitchen.

"That smells amazing, what is it?"

"Salmon and baked sweet potatoes. There's a salad in the fridge, too."

Opening the cabinet behind me, my shirt rode up slightly as I reached to the top shelf to pull down glasses. I turned back around to find Andrew grinning at me. "What?"

"You have a little bump." He walked over, placing a hand on my no longer flat stomach. Last week Wednesday, I found it suddenly difficult to button my pants, a little bump having appeared seemingly overnight.

I smiled, placing my hand over his. "I know, I had to go shopping with JJ last weekend."

"Little one is finally making their presence known."

"Right, because the tender breasts, constant fatigue, heartburn and sudden aversion to garlic weren't a clue at all." I laughed and Andrew looked at me with apologetic eyes.

"I'm sorry." He gave me a quick peck on the lips. "Have I told you how much I love you and how grateful I am that you're carrying our baby."

"Suck up." I grin, dropping another kiss on his lips. "But I love you, too. Now go set the table so we can eat."

**####**

Over dinner, Andrew recounted the meeting he had with Michelle and their lawyers regarding Keely. Ultimately, Michelle couldn't just give up her rights to Keely without reason, but they could change the custody agreement to where Andrew had full custody. Though Michelle was still allowed visitation, she didn't have to take advantage of it, but she would still be responsible for child support.

"How did Keely take it?"

"She's devastated, but I think she saw it coming. She said she hasn't been happy whenever she's been at her mom's lately, but I know she feels like it's her fault. Like she did something wrong or wasn't a good enough daughter. I think this trip will be a good distraction for a few days, and I know she was really looking forward to tonight with Megan."

"I'm glad she gets time with her aunt. Does she have family on her mom's side?"

"No, Michelle is an only child and her parents passed away a long time ago. With my parents gone, Megan is the only other family she has."

"Well, if she's receptive, I know JJ and Garcia will gladly take on the role of aunt for her just as they will for our little one. Speaking of family though, I got a call from my mother the other day."

"Oh? How did that go?"

"Apparently she heard about the fact that I will be stepping down from the BAU. I told her about the baby and moving to Denver. I didn't tell her about your visit, but she'd like to meet you. If you're up for braving a lunch with her, I can give her a call and set something up before you leave."

"Absolutely. So, is she mad that I'm stealing you away to Colorado?"

"My mother and I only speak on necessary occasions, and see each other a handful of times a year, if that." I stand, taking our plates to the sink. "I highly doubt she cares where I am."

I can hear Andrew following behind me, having grabbed our glasses and the salad bowl. "There are only a handful of people who know about you leaving, if she found out that means she's keeping tabs on you. Creepy as that may seem, I think she does it because she does care about you."

"Maybe." I sigh, turning around to face him and running my palms up his chest. "But, enough serious topics for tonight. I missed you."

Andrew leans down and finds my lips in a soft kiss. Running his tongue along my bottom lip, I open eagerly for him, quickly deepening the kiss as our tongues dance together. I moan into his mouth as his hands find their way down to my ass, squeezing lightly.

"Take me to bed." I utter breathlessly against his lips.


	8. Chapter 8

Clothes were quickly shed between the kitchen and bedroom, and by the time Andrew lays me down on the bed, crawling on top of me, our underwear is the only thing remaining.

Andrew trails a lazy path with his tongue down my neck and torso. He gently takes my breasts in his hands, squeezing ever so lightly and brushing his tongue over my nipples in a way that has me gasping for breath. Writing beneath him, I buck my hips upward and hear him chuckle lightly. He starts to move downwards, lips lingering on my stomach momentarily, leaving sweet kisses where our child is growing inside, before he wraps his fingers around the band of my underwear, pulling them down.

I can feel his hot breath against me as he pulls my thighs over his shoulders, one hand resting on my abdomen. Finally, his lips circle my clit, sucking lightly. My hands grasp the bed sheets on either side of me as he continues. His tongue flicking back and forth against me. I moan as I feel his fingers come into play, dipping inside and pumping slowly. After a few tortuously wonderful minutes I turn my head into the pillow beside me, coming with a muffled cry of his name.

I am vaguely aware of Andrew crawling up to lay beside me, still boneless from my orgasm. I turn to face him, placing a lingering kiss on his lips. "Give me a moment to catch my breath and I'll gladly return the favor."

Andrew wraps an arm around me, pulling me closer and dropping a kiss to my forehead. "Rest for a bit, love. We have all night."

**####**

The next morning, we drove separately to the doctor's office for my OB appointment. I would be heading into work after the appointment and Andrew was going to pick up Keely.

Sitting on the exam table, I started wringing my hands as we wait for the doctor. The nurse had already come in to do the preliminary work-up before going to retrieve Andrew from the waiting room. He pulled a stool up beside me, placing a hand on top of mine and stilling my movements.

"Hey." He said softly, placing his free hand on my cheek and turning me to face him. "We're in this together and everything is going to be ok."

I give a small smile. "I'm glad you're here for this."

"Me too." He says, leaning in and placing a reassuring kiss on my lips. As we pull apart, there is a knock on the door before the doctor comes in.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Montgomery. You must be Emily." She shakes my hand, turning to Andrew. "And you must be dad?"

"Yes, Andrew. Nice to meet you." He replies as they shake hands.

"So, date of conception puts you at 11 weeks. How are you feeling, Emily?" Dr. Montgomery asks as she takes a seat.

"Mostly ok. I haven't had any morning sickness, so that's a plus. I've been fatigued and had some heartburn, but nothing too bad."

"That's good. The heartburn may stick around, but as you enter into the second trimester, you'll likely feel some of your energy returning. Have you been taking prenatal vitamins?"

"Since I found out, yes."

"Perfect, keep that up." She turned to shelf, pulling out some gel and turned on the monitor for the ultrasound. "So, mom and dad, you ready to see your baby?"

"Yes." I whisper, looking over to Andrew who gives me a smile. After pulling my shirt up and unbuttoning my slacks, I reached over to take Andrew's hand as Dr. Montgomery squirted some gel onto my lower abdomen. Staring at the screen as she ran the probe over my skin, I gasped when I saw our baby, with visible arms and legs moving around.

Turning back to Andrew with tears forming in my eyes, I was greeted with a bright smile. "That's our baby." He whispered. I nodded, unable to speak as a host of emotions swirled around in my brain. He leaned down for a kiss before we both turned our attention back to the screen, looking at the little human growing inside me.

"Would you like to hear the heartbeat?" Dr. Montgomery asked, smiling at us.

"Yes, please." I choked out, trying to fight back tears. A moment later, a fast whooshing sound could be heard.

"160bpm, perfectly in range for 11 weeks." Addison noted. "I'll call you once we have the results of your blood tests, but from what I'm seeing here, everything looks great, Emily!"

**####**

Walking out of the appointment, Andrew pulled me into a big hug before letting me get into the car.

"I love you." I spoke against his ear, holding him close. "Thank you for being here with me today."

"There's no where else I'd have rather been. I love you, Em."

With a parting kiss, we went out separate ways. Stepping off the elevator at work, I was met by the eager faces of JJ and Penelope.

"Good morning!" I chuckled, knowing what they were waiting for. Garcia was practically bouncing on her toes.

"So, do tell. How is baby Prentiss? You're smiling so things have to be good, right?"

"Everything looks good, yes." I hand over the ultrasound picture that I had kept out, knowing they would be begging to see.

"Aww, look at little P. Oh they're so cute!" Penelope gushed over the photo while JJ looked at me intently, smiling.

"It's amazing, isn't it." She said knowingly.

"Beyond amazing."


	9. Chapter 9

The team was conveniently on stand down the week of Andrew's visit. While this was great in terms of being able to maximize time with him and Keely, it meant I had no excuse to cancel lunch with my mother. Since Keely still didn't know about the pregnancy, we planned lunch for a day when she was visiting with one of her old friends.

Mother was already there when Andrew and I arrived. As we approached the table, she stood to greet us. "Hello, Emily."

"Hi, mother." I addressed, leaning in for a cheek-to-cheek kiss. Pulling back, I gestured towards Andrew. "Mother, this is Andrew. Andrew, meet my mother."

"It's a pleasure, Ambassador." Andrew said.

She waved a hand dismissively. "Please, call me Elizabeth. Let's sit."

Andrew nodded, pulling out a chair for me before taking his seat.

"Emily tells me you live in Denver now." Elizabeth began.

"Yes, I do. My ex-wife and daughter moved out there a year ago and I'd been waiting for the right job opening to get me out there."

"A daughter? How old is she?"

Andrew pulled out his phone, easily finding a photo to show my mother. "This is Keely, she's 14. She'll be a freshman in high school in August."

"Ah, a teenager. Well, I hope for your sake she's far tamer than Emily was at that age."

"Mother." I say, warningly. Conversation was temporarily halted as the waiter approached to take our orders. I desperately wanted a cocktail, something to take the edge off for the rest of lunch, but I settled for a club soda with cranberry juice.

"So, Andrew, are you planning to make an honest woman out of my daughter?"

I looked to Andrew, who smiled, reaching over and linking our fingers together. "I do, but for now I think we can both agree we have enough big changes in our future."

"I see." She turned towards me. "And when are you moving?"

"End of July. I'm helping ease the new unit chief into the position, slowing phasing out."

"You mean you'll still be in the field for a while? Are you sure that's wise considering your condition?"

I sigh. "I have a whole team with me whom I trust implicitly to have my back, and who trust me to have theirs. I'm not backing down while I'm still here simply because I'm pregnant."

The waiter returned with our food then. Mother's interrogation continued as we ate, and by the time we parted ways I was mentally exhausted.

"That wasn't so bad." Andrew remarked as we got into the car.

"Ha, you're joking, right? Did you not notice her cleverly inserted underhanded judgements?" I blow out a breath. "God, every time I see her, I feel like I have to justify my every life choice."

"Hey." He reached over the console and placed a hand on my knee. "Don't let her get under your skin. I know it sounds like she's being judgmental pushing the topic of marriage or questioning your abilities in the field, but I think in her own twisted way she wants what's best for you. She just doesn't know how to show it very well."

I sigh. "I want to believe you, but after years of a complicated and distant relationship with my mother, it's hard to imagine."

"I know." He nods, then leans for a kiss. It's no more than a soft brush of lips, but it centers me. "Ready to get back to work?" He asks, pulling back and starting the engine.

"I suppose. The quicker I get back to work, the quicker I am to coming home for the evening."

**####**

The following night I am in the kitchen cutting vegetables for stir fry when I feel Andrew come up behind me. He wraps his arms around me, resting his head on my shoulder.

"Another home cooked meal, you're spoiling us." He says, nuzzling his face into my neck.

"Well, savor it tonight because the rest of the week is takeout." My words turn into a moan as he starts dropping wet kisses down my neck and shoulder. "Andrew, your daughter could walk in here any moment."

"She's upstairs taking a shower." He murmured against my skin.

"The water turned off ages ago." I note.

"Alright, I'll behave." He sighs, planting a kiss on my cheek and moving to stand beside me. He grabs a second knife from the block and starts cutting up a yellow zucchini. I look over at him, biting my lip in a grin.

"What, was I not allowed to help?" He asks, noting my stare.

"No, I was just admiring the situation. You and me being all domestic in the kitchen." I smile.

A moment later I hear footsteps coming down the stairs and I look up to see Keely rounding the corner into the room. "Hey!" I greet before turning my attention back to the cutting board. "Dinner will be ready in about 20 minutes."

When she doesn't respond, I look back up at her. I can't quite read the look on her face. Andrew also takes note of her silence and asks what is wrong.

"Are you pregnant?" She asks. Her tone is direct and I can tell she wants answers.

"Yes." I respond quietly. Keely looks to her dad then, noticing his lack of surprise and seemingly concluding he already knew. The expression on her face changes to one of anger and hurt.

"How did you find out?" Andrew asks, his voice equally quiet.

"You mean because my father didn't have the decency to tell me himself?" Oh yeah, she's definitely mad. "It wasn't intentional. I was looking for my external charger and remembered that you borrowed it for the flight. I went to go get it from your bag in Emily's room and saw the _What to Expect When You're Expecting_ book on her nightstand. The real question is, why did you hide this from me?"

"Honey, it wasn't about hiding it from you. It's just, with everything happening with your mom I didn't want to add anything else to your plate, especially at the end of the school year. We thought it would be best to wait." Andrew rounds the kitchen island and walks toward Keely. He reaches out a hand to touch her shoulder, but she flinches away.

"Are we moving back to DC?"

"No, honey, you don't have to worry about that. We're not going to move you away from your friends. Emily is going to come live with us in Denver, assuming you're ok with that." He explains.

Keely looks back to me then. "I don't want you to hate me." Her voice breaks as tears form in her eyes.

My brow furrows, wondering where she would get that idea. "Why would I hate you?"

"You have a job and a life here in DC that you're leaving to be with dad. If it weren't for me, he wouldn't be in Denver and you wouldn't have to move."

"Oh sweetheart." I move around the island, pulling out two bar stools and beckoning Keely over. She hesitates for a moment until I reach out a hand for her. When she takes it, I pull her over to sit on the stool in front of me. Keeping her hand in mine, I make sure to meet her eyes before speaking. "I could never hate you. I knew when your dad and I first started dating that he was waiting for a transfer out to Denver to be closer to you, and I respected that and chose to enter into the relationship regardless. And I do love my job, but I would be stepping down from the BAU when the baby is born regardless. As for my life in DC, I have no qualms about giving it up to move to Denver. As disgustingly cliché as it may sound, home is where the heart is, and my heart is with your dad."

Keely snickers lightly, wiping a tear from her eyes. "That is disgustingly cliché."

"I know, but hey. I know we only recently met officially, but I'm also looking forward to getting to know you better." Keely looks hard into my eyes, as if trying to gauge my sincerity. Seeming to read her thoughts, Andrew stepped over and placed his fingers under her chin, lifting her face.

"Emily isn't Brandon. She really does want to get to know you, and she's not going to turn me against you." Keely nods her head and Andrew pulls her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry you felt like we kept you in the dark about the baby. I'm really excited to see you as a big sister, you know."

"I suppose you're forgiven." Keely says, pulling out of his embrace.

"Always my number one?" Andrew asks Keely, holding out his pinky.

"Always your number one." Keely responds, looping her pinky around his and tightening. Andrew had told me about this little thing of theirs, but it's the first I've seen it in person and I smile at the interaction.

Changing the subject, I throw out a proposal. "Well, I really don't feel like cooking anymore. What do you guys say we order some pizza and watch a movie?" I am answered by two resolute head nods. "Alright, I'll call it in. Keely, do you want to go pick the movie?"

"Sure."

As she makes her way into the living room, Andrew pulls me into his arms. "I love you." He whispers.

"I love you, too."


	10. Chapter 10

The rest of June flies by. Tara is flowing seamlessly into the role of unit chief and has already taken the lead on a few cases. I've been slowly giving her more of the paperwork, and by the first week of July she's handling more than half the load.

The third week of July we're called out on a case in Connecticut, my last case in the field. The unsub is attacking working mothers in high level business positions. So far, he's killed four women. On our third day in Hartford, we identify the suspect as one Christopher Johnson. His ex-wife, a tech CEO, had won full custody of their 5-year-old son after the divorce and he had passed away in a drowning accident in her care while she was on a conference call. The unsub blamed her for putting her work ahead of her child and was taking his rage out on anyone who reminded him of his wife.

Splitting up in two SUVs, half of the team went to the unsub's house and the rest of us to his workplace. JJ, Matt and I pull up to his office building. When we approach the receptionist inside, we're told that Christopher just left a minute ago for lunch and that we might still be able to catch him in the parking garage. With the information that employees park on the third floor, we head down the hall to the stairwell connecting the office building with the parking garage.

As we enter level 3, we each split off down an aisle, guns out and eyes open. Halfway down my row I turn to the left to clear around a pillar and am met face to face with the unsub, whose gun is already drawn.

"Christopher, put the gun down." I say calmly.

"Why? So that I can end up in prison? That's where my ex-wife belongs, not me." He spits.

"I know you're angry about what happened to your son. But the women you've killed aren't your wife and you took them away from their families."

"They didn't care about their families. About their children. They put their jobs first, just like Angela. And look at you." He scoffs, waving his gun towards my now noticeably pregnant belly. "Walking into dangerous situations and putting your unborn child's life at risk. You deserve to die like the rest of them."

The next thing I know, two shots ring out and I watch the unsub fall to the ground. Looking back up I see JJ behind him. Taking a shuddering breath, I mouth the words thank you to her and she nods.

**####**

We landed in DC around 9:30pm that evening. Since the team was on stand down for the next week, Tara and I decided we could wait to write up the reports until the next morning, recommending that everyone go home and get some sleep.

Knowing I wouldn't be able to go to sleep right away, I decided to wind down with a bubble bath when I got back to the condo. Adding a few drops of lavender oil to the water and pulling my hair back into a clip, I climbed into the tub. Sinking further into the warm water, I had just closed my eyes when I heard my phone buzz. Picking it up off the ledge beside the tub, I see that Andrew is trying to FaceTime and I smile, sliding my finger across the screen to answer. "Hello, my handsome man."

"Hey, beautiful. How are you?"

I sigh. "Tired. This last case got to me."

"What happened?"

Recounting the basics of the case and telling him about the events in the parking garage, I watch his facial expressions turn from concern to relief. "I know I didn't end up getting hurt, but I honestly think that if we weren't already on stand down this next week, I would've called it quits." I say, rubbing my free hand across my growing belly.

"I'm so glad you're ok, babe."

"I wish you were here. I just want to cuddle up with you tonight."

He grins mischievously. "Seeing as it looks like you're in the tub, I wish I was there, too."

"Andrew Mendoza." I admonish playfully. "You and your one track mind."

He chuckles lightly and then takes a breath. "One more week, my love."


	11. Chapter 11

Andrew flew back into DC the morning of the last Saturday in July. We spent most of the morning and early afternoon packing the last of my things into boxes. The movers come on Tuesday, and as soon as we see them off, Andrew and I will be flying back to Denver together.

It's hot in the condo, and as we're setting aside boxes of kitchen ware to donate, Andrew peels off his shirt, leaving him in nothing but a pair of jeans. He looks sexy. His creamy mocha skin tanned a few shades darker from the summer sun, slightly slicked with sweat, arm muscles flexing as he lifts a box off the kitchen island to clear space for another box to be packed.

"Something catch your eye?" I can hear the smirk in his voice and look up to meet his amused eyes.

"Mmm, indeed." I make my way over to him, running my hands up his chest before wrapping them around his neck. "I've missed you these past few weeks."

"I've missed you, too." He says, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me as close as my little bump will allow.

"So how about…" I plant a kiss on his neck "you show me…" his jaw, "just how much." I finish, capturing his lips in a kiss. He moans, one hand immediately coming up to tangle in my hair, puller me deeper. Mouths open eagerly, our tongues tangling in a familiar dance as we savor the taste of each other. I can't help the whimper that escapes as he bites gently at my lower lip.

I release my hands from around his neck, dropping them to his pants and deftly undoing the button. Once his pants are lost, I dip a hand into his boxers, fingers wrapping around his stiff cock and pumping slowly. He pulls his lips away at that, releasing a low groan. "Fuck, babe."

"That's what I'm trying to do." I whisper huskily into his ear.

Running his hands down my back, Andrew grips the sides of my sundress and I momentarily raise my hands above my head so he can pull it off. He groans again as he takes in the sight of me in a navy lace bra and thong. "God, you're gorgeous." Scooping me up bridal style, he carries me into the bedroom, depositing me on the bed and the rest of our clothes are quickly lost.

Andrew hovers above me, our lips locked in a frenzy, and I can feel him hard against my hot, wet center. Tired of waiting I reach down and position him, wrapping my legs around his hips and pushing them forward. He doesn't hesitate, eagerly picks up a hard, fast pace that has us both gasping. I loop my arms underneath his, fingers gripping tightly onto his shoulders.

"God, you feel amazing." I gasp out on a breath.

"Are you close?"

"Uh huh, so close." I mutter against his shoulder.

He reaches a hand down and finds my clit, running two fingers down along each side of it a few times before finally putting pressure on it with his thumb and I'm soaring. Andrew swallows my scream, capturing my mouth in a hard kiss as he continues pumping inside, on the verge of orgasm himself. Coming down from my high, I pull back and whisper into the space between our lips. "Let go, babe. Come for me." Less than half a dozen thrusts later, he does, collapsing to the side so as not to crush me.

I turn, curling up against him as he wraps an arm around me, dropping a kiss to my forehead. "That was quite the welcome break from packing."

"I've needed you so bad these past few weeks. Not that it's all about sex, but I've felt like a horny teenager." He laughs at that, and I slap his chest playfully. "It's not funny, these pregnancy hormones are no joke."

"Well, I'm happy to oblige anytime."

**####**

Sunday evening, Rossi hosted a sort of going away party. The evening was full of laughter, hugs, tears, and many, many gifts. Garcia explained that everything was gender neutral, as we didn't yet know what we were having. JJ assured me that simply meant there would be a whole new batch of gifts if and when we did find out.

As the evening wound down, I snuck inside for a moment to regain my composure. Setting my glass of sparkling cider on the kitchen counter, I took in the scene outside through the window. Andrew and Spencer were chasing all the big kids around the yard, JJ and Penelope seated by Kristy, admiring her newest daughter, and Alvez, Matt and Will were all off to the side laughing about something or other.

Just as I was looking around the back for Rossi, I heard footsteps coming around the corner and turn to see him there. "I should've known you would follow me."

He smiles, coming to stand next to me. "Nervous about the move?"

"A bit. I'm ready to be done with the long-distance thing and I'm mostly excited about the baby, but it's all such a big adjustment. I've been dedicated to life as an agent in some form or another for the past two decades. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself for the next few months."

"Andrew said you were taking some time off."

"Yeah, it just makes sense. I'd be going on maternity leave in 4-5 months anyhow, it'll give me some time to get settled."

"Well, you've been positively glowing tonight. You're going to be a great mother, Emily."

"Thank you. And thank you for tonight, it was really great to have one last night with everyone."

"It was my pleasure. I have one more surprise for you before you go." Reaching into his jacket, he pulls out a piece of paper and hands it over.

Unfolding it to reveal a picture of a mansion sized log house, I am more than a little confused.

"It's in Breckenridge, which is just over an hour away from Denver. I decided to buy it and rent it out, but that also means I can use it for myself when I want. Penelope, JJ and I are already making plans to spend Christmas there. We're waiting to hear back from Derek on whether he and the family can join as well, or if they're going to Chicago."

My jaw drops, tears forming in my eyes. "You guys are coming for Christmas?" I'm not sure what possible explanation I was expecting, but that wasn't it.

"I know that's less than a month after your due date, so we'll understand if you and Andrew don't want to come stay with a newborn, but even if that's the case we'll be close enough to come visit and Keely is welcome to join us regardless. Surprisingly for a Louisiana native, Will is a master skier and he's offered to teach us all the ropes."

"David Rossi, one of these days your extravagance will stop rendering me speechless."

**####**

Monday morning, Andrew and I attended my second OB appointment together. When the doctor confirmed that the blood tests that I'd gone in for the previous week and the ultrasound showed no signs of anatomic or chromosomal abnormalities, I released a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. Yet again, I was in awe at the sight of our baby moving on the monitor and the sound of the heartbeat, strong and healthy.

When the doctor asked if we wanted to know the gender, I immediately said yes. Andrew laughed at my eager response. He knew that I hated surprises and that the thought waiting until birth to find out was not one that I was willing to even consider.

Climbing into the car after leaving the appointment, we were both still reveling in the newfound information about our baby. Andrew reached his hand across the console, finding mine and linking our fingers together. "A girl." He whispered.

"A girl." I smiled, meeting his eyes. "You ready to be outnumbered 3 to 1?"

"Absolutely."


	12. Chapter 12

After landing in Denver the late Tuesday afternoon, we picked up Keely from her friend's house, Maria, who she'd been staying with while Andrew was in DC. It was a quiet night in, Keely telling us over dinner about the fall schedules that had just been released. She was ecstatic to know that she had at least one friend in every class and that she had B lunch, which was apparently the best since it wasn't too early nor too late. Her only complaint was in regard to Spanish.

"They put me in Spanish II Honors." She groaned.

"Why is that not a good thing?" I asked, not understanding.

"I haven't taken Spanish I since 6th grade, back in DC. Everyone here took it in 8th grade, but since I already had, I got to take an elective. If you choose to continue on with Spanish II in high school, as opposed to switching languages, you automatically get placed based on your grade from middle school. Since I got an A, I got put in honors, but I barely remember a thing."

"Well, I can help you with that if you want. I've been fluent in Spanish for almost as long as I can remember."

"That'd be great – thank you! I'm going to need all the help I can get if I don't want to be the laughingstock of the class."

I had to bite my lip not to laugh at the dramatics, but promised not to let that happen.

**####**

The following day, Andrew returned to work. The movers arrived shortly after he left, helping set up my bedframe, nightstand and dresser from DC in the guest room upstairs before unloading the rest of the boxes. What's left is mostly clothes and books, along with a single box of knickknacks and mementos from my travels that I will hide away in the closet of the master bedroom.

My clothes are quickly put away, hung in the half of the closet Andrew cleared for me or folded neatly into the matching second dresser he bought. As for the books, most fit on the full wall bookshelf in Andrew's office. There are a handful though that I carry upstairs, into the room that will soon become the nursery. We haven't bought much furniture yet, in fact, the only thing in the room so far is a white two-tier bookshelf. Sitting down on the carpeted floor, I start unloading my favorite children's books onto the shelves.

"Can I join you?" I'm startled by Keely's voice from behind me.

"Of course." I pat the floor next to me.

"This was my favorite growing up." She says, picking up my copy of The Story of Ferdinand.

"Mm, I love that one, too. My grandfather used to read that to me when I was a little girl. He played a big part in instilling my love for books."

"Frederick, Corduroy, Caps for Sale…" She reads off titles as she flips through the books. "Even some of the Dr. Seuss books. Did you buy out the bookstore?" She laughs.

"Is it too much? I guess I never even considered the fact she could hate reading."

"She? It's a girl?" Keely's excited voice asks, and I mentally kick myself.

"You're going to have to act surprised when your dad gives you a gift later meant to reveal that particular piece of information. But yes, you're going to have a little sister." I smile at the obvious delight in Keely's eyes.

"Yes! I was hoping for a girl." She leans in for a hug, which despite my surprise at the physical contact, I return gladly. "Don't worry, my dad won't know a thing. And no, by the way, it's not too much."

**####**

That evening, Andrew presents Keely with the smallest pink tennis racquet we could find, saying that he hoped someday she could show her little sister the ropes. To her credit, she acts genuinely surprised. In fact, I didn't even think Andrew knew she was faking… until later that night.

We're sitting up in bed, Andrew leaning against the headboard, myself between his open legs, resting against his chest. My nightgown is rucked up, baring my abdomen where our daughter is growing inside, and Andrew is rubbing lavender scented lotion into my skin. I revel in the closeness of just being with him, neither of us speaking, just enjoying each other's presence.

But the quiet is broken a few minutes later when Andrew asks a question that has me inwardly cringing. "So, how did Keely really find out it's a girl?"

He doesn't sound mad, not in the slightest. If anything, he sounds amused. "It's my fault. Keely came in while I was putting some books up in the nursery. We were talking and I made a comment about whether or not _she _will even like books."

"With you as her mama, I have no doubt she will." He says, kissing my shoulder.

"So how did you know?"

"She curls her lips in whenever she knows about a secret, like she's trying to stop herself from smiling. I first noticed it when she was six. She'd heard me talking on the phone with Megan about getting her a bike for her birthday. On the day of, she tried to act surprised but I saw right through it. Over the years, she's perfected the act, but she still curls her lips."

I smile at that, snuggling further into him and resting my hands atop his on my belly. "I can't wait to learn this little one's tells."


	13. Chapter 13

My first month in Denver flew by. Every weekday I tried to go somewhere new. In the days before Keely went back to school, she joined, showing me all the best places to shop and where to find the best food. I visited with Derek a few times, and even joined him on some outings with Hank to a park or the children's museum. Weekends were full of laughter and family time. We'd spent one weekend outfitting the nursery, purchasing a white crib and dresser, as well as a glider and ottoman.

While shopping for furniture, Keely had seen a set of three framed images she begged us to get for the nursery. It was a pink tinged set of Parisian themed pictures; one of the Eiffel Tower, a shot of the carousel across the street, and an image of hot air balloons in the sky. As we'd gotten to know each other more, Keely was fascinated to hear about my travels around the world. She'd been most interested in Paris, and though it still held some dark memories for me in regard to my time spent there while faking my death, sharing the good parts with her had been somewhat cathartic.

Overall, Denver was starting to feel more comfortable. Andrew's house felt more like _our _house with each passing day, and I felt I was building a good relationship with Keely. The Friday after Labor Day, Keely's volleyball team had their first home game of the season. Her friends, Maria and Natalie, had played volleyball in middle school and had convinced her to try out for the team this year. Keely had never played but was naturally athletic, and with a little practice before tryouts and coaching from her friends, she made the JV team along with them.

She'd been quiet the days leading up to the game, which Andrew and I simply chalked up to nerves. The day before the game, JJ texted me and said the team was finishing up a case in Colorado Springs and asked if I wanted to meet up the next day before they left. Since Andrew was planning to go to Keely's game, I agreed, but the next morning Andrew texted and said the director had called a meeting he couldn't skip out on. Knowing that meant no one would be there for the game, I called JJ, apologizing profusely as I told her I wouldn't be able to make it, feeling that someone should go support Keely.

The JV team was good, and for a new player, Keely spent a fair amount of time on the court. At the end of the game, parents waited for the coach to release the players before making their way onto the court, meeting up with their kids.

As I walked down the stairs of the bleachers, I wasn't sure whether Keely would want me to come say hi or not. Yes, we had a good relationship so far, but I didn't know if greeting her after the game like the other parents was my place, especially without Andrew there. Ultimately, the decision was made for me when Keely spotted me at the bottom of the steps. "Emily! What are you doing here?" She ran over with a curious but friendly look.

"I knew your dad couldn't come watch, but I thought someone should be here for your first game. Great job out there, kiddo!"

"Oh, thanks! Um, Maria was going to take me home since dad couldn't make it, but since you're here can I just ride with you?"

"Of course, I'll wait for you out in the hall."

"Thank you!" As I watched her run back to the locker rooms, I pondered the tone of her voice. She seemed happy with the fact that I was there, but something was off.

**####**

As we climbed into the SUV a few minutes later, Keely was quiet. She stared out the window as we drove, seeming deep in thought and somewhat somber. "Keely, is everything ok?"

"Huh?" She asked, taking a second to process what I said before continuing. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine." I didn't believe it for a second but decided not to push. A moment later though, she looked over at me. "Emily, were you there for the whole game?"

"I was, yeah. Why?"

"Did you happen to see my mom?"

"Um, no sweetie, I didn't." I reply apologetically, glancing over at Keely who nods slowly. "But that doesn't mean she wasn't there. I wasn't looking around the crowd much." I add, trying to put a positive spin on it.

"I guess I don't know why I thought she would actually come. Growing up, even after mom and dad divorced, they always made sure one of them would be able to come to my activities. I left a voicemail about the game earlier this week, and I texted her this morning when dad said he wasn't going to be able to make it. I thought maybe…" Her voice trailed off. "It was stupid."

"It's not stupid. It's perfectly normal to want your mom to be there."

"You know, a big part of the reason I even let Maria and Natalie convince me to join the team was in hopes that maybe mom would come to my games. She's been avoiding my calls all summer."

"I know. I'm so sorry, Keely." I say as we pull into the driveway.

"Yeah, me too." She says solemnly, climbing out of the car. Walking inside, Keely drops her practice bag and shoes in the mudroom before joining me in the kitchen where I pull out a Gatorade for her.

"Thanks." She says, taking a swig. "And Emily," she waits until I meet her eyes to continue. "Thanks for coming, today."

"Of course, sweetheart." I smile.

**####**

"I didn't even know she invited Michelle." Andrew remarks as we crawl into bed that evening. I'd told him about my conversation with Keely, which had only served to make him feel even worse about missing the game.

"I think it's just finally hitting her, everything with her mom." I sigh against Andrew's chest, knowing to some degree from my own experience what it's like to feel you mean nothing to your mother.

"Thank you for being there for her, I can't tell you how much that means to me."

"You don't have to thank me. I care about Keely and I was glad to do it."

"I know, but I also know how much you were looking forward to seeing the team. They're your family and I know how much you miss them."

"You guys are my family, too. You and Keely and our little girl."

Andrew and I simultaneously lay a hand on my stomach. "You know, we're going to have to come up with something to call her other than little girl." He says, his thumb rubbing lightly.

"We do." I confirm quietly. Andrew slides away from me a bit, my head slipping off his chest as I look over to him, meeting his curious eyes. "What?"

"You have one in mind, don't you?" He says knowingly.

I sigh. "Yes. There's one name that's constantly been in the back of my mind. I've been trying to think of more, in case you don't like it, but there haven't been any others I've wanted to consider."

He props himself up on his elbow, head resting against his hand as he looks at me expectantly. "Well, are you going to tell me?"

I'm silent for a moment more, biting my lip and hoping he doesn't hate the name. "Stella." It's the first time I've said the name aloud, having told myself I wouldn't get attached to the name if I didn't speak it. Slowly, a wide grin appears on his face. It seems genuine, not a forced reaction to appease me. "You like it?" I ask hesitantly.

"I do. And I think it goes perfectly with the one name that's been lingering in my own mind. Grace."

"Stella Grace." I test the name on my lips. "Stella Grace." I whisper a second time, unable to hold back a smile.

"Stella Grace Mendoza. It's perfect." Andrew leans in for a short, sweet kiss, our foreheads meeting as we pull apart and snuggle back into a close embrace.


	14. Chapter 14

The second weekend in October started out normal. Friday night was pizza and movie night. It was Keely's turn to pick the movie this week and she decided on The Heat, which Andrew noted was decidedly better than her last pick, The Hot Chick. Saturday morning, I was woken with breakfast in bed, Keely entering the bedroom carrying a tray of waffles, bacon, eggs and a fruit parfait. Andrew was following closely behind with a mug of tea, which he set on a coaster on the nightstand before taking a seat beside me on the edge of the bed.

"What is all this for?" I asked, sitting up against the headboard as Keely placed the tray beside me.

"Your birthday." Keely said, handing over an envelope I hadn't noticed. "Open it." Inside was gift certificate for a spa downtown. "I figured you could use a day of pampering. They have pregnancy packages if you want to use it before the baby comes, or you can save it for after."

"Keely, that's so thoughtful. Thank you!"

"You're welcome." She said, but suddenly turned as the doorbell rang. "Oh, that's Natalie." Keely quickly drop a kiss on Andrew's and my cheeks. "See ya, dad! Happy Birthday, Emily!" Parting farewell, she ran out of the room.

"Oh, uh bye!" I called out after her before turning to Andrew, confused. "Where is she going?"

"She's spending the weekend at Natalie's because we're going to be gone." Andrew replies casually, plucking a piece of bacon off the tray and taking a bite.

"We are? Where are we going?" I wasn't aware of any plans.

"That's for me to know and you to find out, birthday girl." He grinned, leaning in for a quick peck before standing from the bed. "I'm going to go clean up in the kitchen, you enjoy your breakfast, my love."

**####**

Andrew's surprise turns out to be a weekend away at the house Rossi bought in Breckenridge. We spend the afternoon lounging around, enjoying each other's uninterrupted company. Andrew grills steaks and an array of veggies for dinner, then draws me a bath to soak while he cleans up.

Climbing out of the tub feeling thoroughly relaxed, I grab a black silk robe from my weekender bag and make my way back downstairs. Andrew is standing at the kitchen island, pouring two flutes of sparkling cider when I approach behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist. Turning in my arms, he leans down for a kiss. He keeps it short and sweet, pulling away after a moment no doubt to propose whatever he has planned next, but I have other ideas.

Bringing one arm up to wrap around his neck, I palm the back of his head, pulling him back in. I run my lips across his jaw, down his neck and back up, nipping at his earlobe. "Emily." His voice is gravelly, thick with desire, making me grin. I pull back then, just enough to meet his eyes.

"You've spoiled me today. I think it's time I return the favor." I whisper in a low, sultry tone before capturing his lips in a heated kiss. I slide my hands underneath his tee, dragging it up. "Off." I order. Andrew obeys eagerly, pulling off his shirt in one fell swoop. Palming him over his jeans, I can feel him growing hard already. Quickly undoing the button and zipper, I pull both his pants and boxer briefs down.

Kneeling in front of him, I grasp his length, starting slow strokes up and down, enjoying his soft intake of breath when I squeeze gently. Taking the tip of him in my mouth, I swirl my tongue around him, continuing to stroke the base of him with my hand. He moans when I run my tongue along the length of him, a hand coming to my head, fingers carding through my hair. "God, Em, baby. Feels so good."

I take him deeper into my mouth, licking and sucking, keeping one hand wrapped around the base as I bring the other up to cup his balls. "Oh, fuck." He rasps on a particularly hard suck. "Gotta stop baby, so close."

"It's ok." I say, releasing him only long enough to reply before licking around his tip again.

"No, I… oh, shit. Want to make you come. Want to come inside you." He manages in between a series of gasps and moans. And, well, who am I to deny that. I kiss my way up his chest before meeting his lips in a deep kiss. It's wet and hot and wonderful. When we separate for air, Andrew steps out of his pants, taking my hand and leading me upstairs to the bedroom we've chosen to stay in.

The moment we enter the room, Andrew is pushing me up against the wall, seeking out my mouth again, our tongues meeting instantaneously. His fingers find the tie on my robe, deftly undoing the knot and sliding the robe off my shoulders. He pulls me over to the bed then, setting me on the edge and kneeling on the plush carpet. He drapes my legs over his shoulders, wrapping his arms around my thighs.

Leaning on my elbows, my head falls back as I feel his tongue run from my opening up to my clit. Andrew moans, the vibrations heightening the sensations of pleasure. "You're so wet, babe." He remarks before diving back in, nibbling and sucking and making me squirm.

"For you. Always for you. Oh, yes!" I shout when he thrusts a finger inside, quickly adding a second and curling both upwards, finding that sweet spot. He continues his ministrations, building me up and I reach that blessed peak in no time, back arching, hands balling up in the duvet. Andrew places gentle kisses on each thigh before setting my legs down, then drops sweet kisses to my belly before finding my lips.

I sit up, hands grasping his face as our mouths mold together, tongues dueling. He reaches his hand down, lines himself up and sinks slowly inside. He pulls out almost entirely before sinking back in again, harder this time, and it has both of us moaning. I kiss him once more before resting our foreheads together, whispering into the space between our lips. "Faster." He picks up the pace then and it doesn't take long before we're both panting, falling over the precipice together.

**####**

We spend the remainder of Saturday evening in bed, a fair amount of Sunday morning, too. Sunday afternoon, we're sitting on the patio loveseat. I'm curled into Andrew's side, his arm around my shoulder, holding me to him with a blanket thrown over our laps. It's quiet and the view of the mountains and trees is beautiful.

"Thank you for this weekend." I say quietly, not wanting to break the peacefulness of the moment. "It was really nice to just have some us time."

"You're welcome, my love." He says, kissing the top of my head. It's quiet again for a few minutes, until I hear Andrew speak up again. "Em?"

"Hmm?" I hum, my eyes are closed, his fingers caressing my shoulder lulling me into a restful state.

"Will you marry me?" He asks.

I open my eyes at that, sitting up to look at him. Taking note of the sincerity on his face, no hesitance or fear, I smile. "Yes." I whisper.

"Yeah?" He grins lightly.

"Yeah." I nod my head, leaning in and placing a gentle kiss on his lips before curling back into his side. "No shotgun wedding though." I say half teasingly, half serious.

He chuckles lightly at that. "No. We don't have to rush. I wasn't even planning to ask yet, hadn't figured out a plan. You're ring is sitting at home, buried in the closet, but this felt right."

"This was perfect." I say, entwining his free hand with one of mine on my lap. "I love you."

"I love you, too." He says, dropping a kiss to the top of my head.


	15. Chapter 15

At 32 weeks along, Andrew and I attended an afternoon long childbirth class at UC Health Hospital, where I planned to have the baby. Halfway through the four-hour session, the instructor let us take a break, pointing us to a table of snacks and refreshments. As I made small talk with some of the other expecting mothers, I repeatedly noticed that women were shocked I was so far along, noting my small stomach.

It certainly didn't feel small, but when I looked around and recalled how far along different people had told me they were, I was comparatively small. I was hardly able to focus on the instructor for the remainder of the session, suddenly worried that something was wrong. My last prenatal visit had been just shy of a month ago, and though everything was normal then, certainly something could've changed.

I was quiet on the drive home, which Andrew noticed. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I don't know." I croaked, barely holding it together at that point, my fears starting to paralyze me.

Andrew took note of my tone and pulled off the road into a Lowe's parking lot. He pulled into an empty spot in the back, putting the car in park and turning towards me. "Talk to me, baby." He implored, taking one of my hands in his own and running his thumb soothingly over the top.

I meet his gaze, tears threatening to spill from my eyes. "I'm worried something is wrong with the baby. I'm too small for this far along."

"What makes you think that?"

"Almost every woman at that session. None of them said it directly, but it was implied."

"Every woman is different, babe. The doctor said everything looked great at your last appointment."

"That was three weeks ago." I reminded, to which he sighed.

He let go of my hand, placing his own on my stomach and obviously able to feel our daughter moving inside. "She's certainly making her presence known." He smiled, but it faded as he met my eyes again, my brown orbs surely showing uncertainty. "Hey, I know I don't know enough to be able to assuage the fears filling your mind right now, but so far your pregnancy has been healthy. Your next appointment is in a few days and we can talk to your doctor then, but please try not to worry too much until we do."

"Ok." I nodded slowly. Andrew took my chin between his thumb and index, turning my face towards his and placing a reassuring kiss on my lips.

Sure enough, two days later at my prenatal visit, the doctor confirmed that everything was fine. I was on the low end of the weight gain and belly circumference scales, but I was within normal limits. And though perhaps it could be considered silly, since I can feel our daughter moving all the time now, seeing her on the monitor during the ultrasound was reassuring.

**####**

Over the next month, I went into nesting mode. All of the clothes that had been purchased so far were washed and hung in Stella's closet in size order. I got the bassinet set up in the corner of the master bedroom, ready for when we brought our little girl home from the hospital. Not that the house was ever overly messy since I'd been staying at home and was able to keep up with things, but I gave every room a deep cleaning. I prepped the guest room and en suite bath upstairs for Megan, Andrew's sister, who would be coming to Denver for Thanksgiving. I also finished all of my Christmas shopping, knowing that with a due date of December 10th, I likely wouldn't have time to do much shopping that month.

The week before Thanksgiving, Andrew flew to DC for a conference at Quantico. As much as I wished I could tag along, I was 37 weeks along and couldn't fly. It turned out to be a good thing I stayed behind though, because the day after Andrew left, I got a call from Keely's school nurse, asking me to come pick her up. I called ahead to her pediatrician's office on my way to the school, asking if they had an opening for later that morning since I knew Keely would need a doctor's note for missing volleyball practice that afternoon.

Her pediatrician suspected strep, which was confirmed by a rapid strep test done in the office. She told me Keely would need to stay home for 24 hours once she started antibiotics later that day, news that Keely was not at all thrilled to hear. "But it's the week before break, I have tests!" She complained with a hoarse voice.

"I'm sorry, sweetie." I said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear as we waited for the doctor to print her prescriptions. "Your teachers will understand. Even if you didn't have strep, you would've had to stay home for 24 hours anyway since you had a fever in the nurses office." She frowned at that, looking equally defeated and annoyed.

Arriving back at home, I got Keely settled on the couch with the TV remote and lots of blankets to curl up with. We spent the afternoon and evening watching movies, taking turns picking… She's the Man, Devil Wears Prada, Mrs. Doubtfire and so on. I made homemade chicken noodle soup and mashed sweet potatoes for dinner, which was easy and soothing for Keely to swallow. She fell asleep on the couch in the middle of The Hobbit, and though I loathed to wake her, I knew she would sleep better upstairs. She also needed to take another dose of medicine before she passed out for the evening.

**####**

I slept terribly that evening, waking in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, per usual, but then unable to go back to sleep. My back ached, I couldn't find a comfortable position, and I missed having Andrew there to curl up with. At 5am I finally called it quits, crawling out of bed. I made my way upstairs, checking on Keely and pleased to see her sleeping soundly. Meandering back down to the kitchen, I made myself a cup of tea and headed back to the bedroom. I had just grabbed a book from my nightstand and settled on the chaise when my phone went off. It was a text from Andrew, wishing me a good morning and asking how Keely was doing. Seeing as I knew he was probably still at the hotel, I decided to give him a call.

"Well this is a pleasant surprise." The sound of Andrew's voice was immediately relaxing. "What are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep. I finally just decided to get up a few minutes ago."

"Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, everything is fine, I just couldn't get comfortable. I missed my body pillow." I remarked half teasingly.

"Ah, my apologies, love." I could hear the smile in his voice. "How is Keely?"

"Still sleeping. She's not happy about missing school today but she needs the rest. She sounds miserable, but we got her fever down last night with Tylenol and the antibiotics should start taking affect today. I'll wake her at 7am for her next dose."

"Thanks for taking care of her. I'll be in meetings up until 2pm today, but I'll call on the break so that I can talk to her for a bit. I should go get some breakfast before I head into Quantico."

"Ok, drive safe. I love you."

"I love you, too."

**####**

When Keely woke up that morning, I made us both smoothies for breakfast, making some eggs and toast to go along with mine. After breakfast, Keely wanted to study for a bit, in hopes that she could return to school tomorrow for the last day before break and make-up a few of her tests. I spent a few hours helping her review, and when she felt fully prepared, we settled back on the couch to watch reruns of Golden Girls.

A few episodes in, I had to get up and walk around. My back was still aching, and I was starting to get cramps in my lower abdomen. "Are you ok?" Keely asked, seeming to notice my discomfort.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. I think I just have Braxton Hicks but moving around a bit should help." I assured, but an hour later nothing had changed. Needing to use the restroom again, I excused myself to the master bath and was mortified when I noticed drops of blood on my underwear.

I immediately called my doctor, explaining my symptoms and she recommended I come into the hospital. I tried to call Andrew next, but got his voicemail. I knew he was in meetings most of the day and likely had his phone on silent. I called Derek next.

"What's up, princess?" He answered.

"Derek, can you come stay with Keely?" My tone was laced with urgency, which Derek immediately noticed.

"Of course, I'll be right there. Is everything ok?"

"No, I need to go to the hospital. My doctor thinks I might be in labor, but either way I need to get checked out."

"Ok, we'll be there in ten." I forgot he would have Hank with him, suddenly feeling bad since Keely was sick, but he hung up before I could mention it.

I changed my clothes and grabbed my hospital bag from the closet. I had packed it last week, but never expected to potentially need it so soon. Taking a few deep breathes, I tried not to panic. I texted Andrew, telling him to call me as soon as possible. Walking back out into the living room, Keely gave me a curious look.

"Keely, Derek and Hank are going to…" I was cut off by the doorbell ringing. "Are here to stay with you for a bit." I finished, going to open the door. I was surprised when I saw not only Derek and Hank, but Savannah on the other side. Derek noted my surprise.

"You can decide whether you want Savannah or I to go with you, but one way or another you aren't going to the hospital alone." He said firmly as they made their way inside.

"Kee!" Hank yelled when he say Keely making her way over to us.

"You're going to the hospital?" Keely approached, looking nervous.

"Yeah, sweetie. I need to go." I looked back to Derek and Savannah, torn on who I wanted to come. Derek was my former partner, I trusted him with my life and he'd seen me at my worst in the field. But Savannah, she was not only a friend but a mother. Plus, working at the hospital she was familiar with some of the staff and would best know how to advocate on my behalf if necessary. It was that factor that ultimately had me choosing her.

An hour later, my OB had confirmed I was in the early stages of labor, 100% effaced and 2 cm dilated. She set me up in a room in the L&D department and told me to feel free to walk around, get comfortable, whatever I needed to do. Voicing my panic over the fact I was only 37 weeks along, she assured that while I was early, it was perfectly safe for the baby to be delivered, but just in case there were any problems after delivery, there would be a NICU team standing by.

A few minutes after Dr. Bennett left, my phone rang. "Andrew."

"I'm so sorry, babe." Were the first words he said.

My resolve broke a little, hearing his voice. "It's not your fault, this wasn't supposed to happen yet. Can you get on a flight out?"

"I got something even better. JJ's driving me to the airfield now and I'm getting on the jet."

"What? How?" I asked in disbelief.

"You'll have to ask Garcia and Rossi."

"You know what, I don't even care right now. I just want you here."

"I'll be there as soon as I can, I promise. I love you so much, Emily."

**####**

Just over four and a half hours later, I cried tears of relief when I saw Andrew's face in the doorway of my room. Savannah smiled at him, excusing herself and telling me to keep her updated and let her know when we'd like her to bring Keely by. I thanked her profusely before she left, grateful for her presence and encouragement the past few hours.

Andrew took her place beside the bed, placing a lingering kiss on my lips. "I'm so glad you're here." I said, taking his hand and squeezing as another contraction came on.

"How are you feeling, love." He asked after the contraction had passed.

"Tired, but it's manageable so far. The doctor was just in a few minutes ago, I'm 7cm dilated so hopefully not much longer now."

For the next six hours, Andrew massaged my lower back between contractions, walked the circle around the delivery ward with me countless times, and pressed cold compresses to my forehead. Finally, the doctor told me I was fully dilated and ready to start pushing.

"Holy mother of hell, I didn't know anything could hurt so much." I screamed as I bore down through what felt like the thousandth contraction. "Getting staked was a breeze compared to this." If the doctors and nurses in the room exchanged curious glances at that remark, I didn't take notice.

"You're doing so great, Emily!" Andrew encouraged, brushing sweaty bangs off my brow and placing a kiss there.

"I hate you so much right now." I said between panting breaths.

"I know, it's ok." He assured. "Just think of our little girl, Em. Think of Stella." It was that reminder that had me pushing again and seconds later the most beautiful cry filled the room.

"Congratulations!" Dr. Bennett said as she placed our daughter on my chest where a nurse had laid a blanket. The world practically stopped then, my sole focus on the precious, breathing life in my arms.

"Hello, my sweet girl." I whispered, tears of joy falling down my cheeks. Andrew's lips pressed to my hair, one hand coming to rest over mine on Stella's head. I look up to meet his eyes, smiling wider than I thought possible before leaning in for a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too." He replies, voice full of emotion as we both turn our attention back to our daughter. "She's beautiful."


	16. Chapter 16

Stella Grace Prentiss-Mendoza. 5lbs 11oz, 18 inches. She was a beacon of health despite her small size and early arrival, and three days after her birth we were bringing her home. Since Keely had still been recovering from strep, she didn't come visit at the hospital and was beyond excited to finally be meeting her little sister.

As Andrew pulled into our neighborhood, he looked back in the rear-view mirror to where I was sitting. "She asleep?" He asked.

"Nope. Wide awake." I replied, meeting his eyes in the mirror before looking back down at our little girl and smiling.

Seconds later we pulled into the garage. Andrew carried in my hospital bag while I carried Stella in her car seat. We'd barely made it into the living room before Keely was running towards us.

"You're home!" She whisper screamed as she tackled Andrew in a hug.

Andrew laughed. "She's awake, you don't have to whisper." He said in a normal voice. I set the car seat down then, crouching to unbuckle Stella.

Keely awed as I pulled Stella out, passing her gently into Keely's arms. "She's so much smaller in person than over FaceTime." Keely shifted Stella slightly, placing her index finger in one of Stella's hands and smiling as Stella's grasp tightened around it. "You've got a good grip Stella. That'll be really important someday when I teach you how to play tennis. Yeah, are you gonna be a tennis player just like me?"

I leaned back against Andrew who wrapped his arms around me, the both of us smiling at the interaction between Keely and Stella. Suddenly I realized that it seemed like Keely was alone at the house.

"Honey, where is Derek or Savannah?"

"Derek went to pick up lunch about 10 minutes ago. He and Hank should be back pretty soon."

"Oh, bless him. Your little sister came before I had time to stock up the pantry and fridge."

Voices from the entryway alerted us that Derek and Hank were back now. "Pizza's here." Derek called out.

"Pisa here!" Hank mimicked happily, running into the living room and stopping in his tracks when he saw the four of us. "Kee! Baby!" He pointed to Keely before looking to me. "Auntie Em, I hold baby?"

"Sure, sweetie. Come here." I beckoned him over to the couch to sit next to me, Keely taking a seat on the other side of him. We instructed him on how to hold out his arms and then Keely gently transferred Stella over. I placed a hand under Stella's head for extra support.

"Daddy, I want baby." Hank said, looking up at Derek who just laughed.

"Maybe someday, buddy."

"Ok. I all done Auntie Em." Hank said looking back at me. I took Stella from his arms and Derek recommended we eat before the pizza went cold, a suggestion we all agreed to.

**####**

Andrew and Keely left for the airport shortly after lunch. Andrew's sister Megan had booked an earlier flight for Thanksgiving when she heard about Stella's early arrival. Hank had fallen asleep halfway through his second slice of pizza, so Derek was waiting to go home until he woke up from his nap.

Walking back into the kitchen after nursing Stella, I found Derek cleaning up the kitchen from lunch. "I can't thank you enough for your help the past few days."

"No problem, princess. I may not be your partner anymore, but I'll always be there for you."

I smiled at that. "So, Andrew and I were talking. We'd really like it if you would be Stella's godfather."

"Me? You sure?"

"Absolutely. We haven't talked to JJ yet, but assuming she accepts the role of godmother, it'll be up to you and her to make sure our girl becomes a soccer star at Northwestern should something happen to Andrew and I."

"I'd be honored." Derek embraced me in a tight hug, interrupted by Hank's cries from upstairs. "That's my cue. We'll go ahead and head out now, but we'll see you Thursday and if you need anything before then, I'm just a phone call away."

"Thanks, Derek."

**####**

The first night home with Stella was amazing. Megan had offered to cook dinner and we needed some staple foods, so Andrew and Keely had stopped by the grocery store on the way home from the airport with Megan. This was only the third time I'd been around Megan, but she was a kind, helpful human being and I adored her.

When Andrew and I retired to our room for the night, we had a hard time putting Stella in her basinet. Both of us just wanted to snuggle her forever, but eventually our own desire for sleep won out. Andrew was an angel the first three times Stella woke up. He'd get up and check her diaper, change it if needed and then bring her over to the bed for a feeding. The fourth time Stella woke up it was nearing 5am. I had heard Stella stirring before she broke out into an actual cry and got up to retrieve her before Andrew woke up.

After feeding Stella, I couldn't quite bring myself to put her back down and was already awake enough that I decided to just get up. I carried Stella out of the room with me and made a cup of tea before settling on the couch with her. Not 10 minutes later I heard footsteps coming down the steps. I expected it to be Megan, figuring she'd be up earlier because of the time difference, but was surprised to see Keely come around the corner into the living room.

"Hey, sweetie. What are you doing up so early?" I asked softly. She slowly padded over to the couch, sitting next to me so that she could look over at Stella.

"Couldn't sleep." She said, taking one of Stella's onesie covered feet in her hand and rubbing the sole with her thumb.

"What's wrong? Are you still feeling sick?" I raised a hand to her forehead instinctively, feeling for a fever.

Keely smiled almost shyly at the action. "No, I feel fine. Everything is ok."

"Keely, if everything was ok you wouldn't be up at 5:10am on a Monday when you don't have school. You're also biting your lips which you only do when you're nervous or stressed."

"You know, sometimes I hate that you used to be a profiler." Keely jokes.

I smile. "It doesn't take a profiler; I've just gotten to know you pretty well the past few months."

"You have, haven't you." Keely looks at me intently and her eyes hold a sadness to them I desperately wanted to understand. She looks back at Stella before speaking again in a quiet voice. "She's lucky."

I tilt my head, unsure of the meaning behind her words. "How so?"

"To have you as a mom. You love her and you'd do anything for her."

Ahh, so this was about Keely's mother. Nodding I confirmed, "I do, and I would. But you know what else?" I waited for her to look at me, and when she didn't, I placed a finger under her chin to shift her gaze towards me. "I love you, too. And I would do anything for you as well." Keely's eyes start to water at my words. "I know I don't say it a lot, but I do love you. And I'm not just saying that because I'm your dad's fiancé. You're a bright, compassionate, witty human being and it is a pleasure to get to know you and be in your life, Keely. I know I'm not your mom, but I promise I will be there for you whenever you want me."

Tears are streaming down Keely's cheeks now and her voice is hoarse. "What if I wanted you to be my mom?"

Now that I didn't expect, and it takes me a second to form a response. "I think that I'd be honored but that we should talk to your dad."

"I did. He's supportive, but said it was a conversation I should have with you."

The knowledge that this is something Keely has been thinking about combined with my emotions are quickly turning me into a teary-eyed mess. I pull Keely into a one-armed hug and she buries her head in my neck. "Then I say, I would love to be your mom."

"What's going on out here?" Andrew's sleep-laden voice has us both looking up to see his concerned face. He comes to sit on the other side of me, one arm reaching behind me to squeeze Keely's shoulder.

"Just girl talk." Keely says, leaning back into my side. "With mom." She adds in a quiet whisper.

I look over at Andrew then, his face displaying a knowing smile that reminds me Keely said she'd spoken to him about this already. I'd be having a talk with him later, a bit vexed he gave me no heads up about the topic, but with the four of us cuddled on the couch together, I couldn't bring myself to care just then.


	17. Chapter 17

"You want to what?!" I couldn't be hearing him right.

"It's just a suggestion, but Rossi and I were talking about it the other day and…" Andrew starts to explain.

"When did you talk to Rossi?" I interrupt.

"We were catching up on the phone the yesterday. He was confirming some details for when everyone gets to Breckenridge next week."

"And how did the topic of marriage fall into the conversation?"

"Well, you know he invited Megan to come back out and celebrate with us, and the BAU team and Derek will all be there. I just voiced aloud the thought that pretty much everyone we'd want at our wedding was all going to be together and Rossi suggested we do it on New Year's Eve before everyone heads back home."

"That's true, but Andrew, that's only a week and a half away. I know we aren't doing a traditional wedding no matter when we tie the knot, but I would still like to find a dress and that's not much notice. Not to mention my mother would raise hell about an invitation on such short notice, and even though I don't want her there I'd have to at least invite her. Plus, we wouldn't be able to have a proper wedding night. I won't get the ok from my doctor until a few days after the new year."

"Hey." Andrew's voice is soft as he takes my hands in his. "You don't have to say yes. I know it was an out of the blue idea, and I'm totally ok if we want to wait, it was just a thought. However, I will say that I'm not marrying you for a quote proper wedding night and as much as I miss that side of us, there is no pressure to jump back into that until you're ready, with or without doctor's ok."

"Believe me, I'm ready!" I confirm. "I know I've seen you in dad mode before with Keely, but something about Stella being so little and seeing you take care of her, it's such a turn on."

Andrew chuckles. "That goes both ways, you know. But if we get married at Rossi's we wouldn't be having a _proper_ wedding night anyway."

Emily smirks seductively. "Why not? I seem to recall a very _proper_ weekend there in October."

"Mmm, yes, but we were alone. The house is going to be quite full this time around and I wouldn't want to traumatize any of our friends or family."

"Fair enough." I sigh, thinking further on his idea. "Let me think about it. I see the pros, and I would love to take advantage of everyone being together to celebrate, but I need some time."

"Absolutely. There really is no pressure, I don't want you to feel like you have to say yes. It was just something I wanted to toss out."

"I know." I nod, leaning in and pecking his lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too, babe." He smiles.

**####**

Andrew's proposal was on my mind for the rest of the morning, and by lunch I found myself writing a list of pros and cons. Overall, the pros were winning. Whenever Andrew and I had talked wedding we'd always said we wanted something small. Andrew's best friend and coworker, Steve, was the only person besides his sister and Keely that Andrew would want there. Steve's wife Lana had become a close friend once I moved to Denver, and besides my friends at the BAU and Derek's family, she's the only other person I'd want there as well. Formality wise, I'd have to invite my mother, but if we got married on such short notice, chances were, she wouldn't come. As much as I detested the thought of her lecturing me on not giving adequate notice or having a conventional wedding, the thought of her actually attending a later ceremony was worse.

The only con was the dress. If we were really going to do this, I wanted to look good. I was still 12 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight and the idea of dress shopping wasn't overly appealing, not to mention I'd need something nursing friendly. Needing an unbiased friend to talk things through with, I called Lana. She suggested we go shopping the next morning, and if I happened to find something, the wedding would be a go. If not, well, it'd be a sign to wait.

That's how I found myself standing in front of a mirror in the third boutique we'd visited that day.

"It's perfect." I whispered, a bit in shock of the fact I actually found something that I love.

"Emily, you look absolutely stunning." Lana said, swaying Stella in her arms. "What do you think, Stell? Doesn't mommy look beautiful?"

The dress was an ivory, chiffon, deep V-neck gown with sheer cuffed sleeves. The fabric was snug against my full breasts, held tighter by a thin sash before flowing loosely down to the floor. With the deep V-neck and the zip in the back it would be easy enough to breastfeed in, and beyond looking good, it was surprisingly comfortable to wear.

I turned to Lana. "Will you be there? I know it's short notice, but we'd love to have you and the family."

She smiled. "Steve and I wouldn't miss it, and as much as he'd never admit it, I think Ethan would be happy to spend time with Keely outside of school and sports. We didn't have big plans for New Year's this year anyway."

"I'm sure Keely would feel the same." Ethan was Steve and Lana's oldest son. He was the same age as Keely, and the two of them had been getting a lot closer over the course of the semester. Steve, Lana and I had all placed bets on when they would finally start dating, but Andrew was still in denial. He liked Ethan, but he didn't like the idea of his little girl growing up. "And my friend JJ has a son, Henry, who is the same age as Levi, so he would have a buddy there too. And the Morgan's will be there, you've met Derek and Savannah."

"Yes, and their son Hank. Levi begged us to adopt another boy for weeks after he met Hank at your Halloween party so he could be a big brother."

We both laughed and then I took a deep breath, picking up my phone to dial Andrew's number.

"Hi, love. What's up?"

"We're getting married."

"Really? You're sure?" His tone was hopeful and I knew he was smiling on the other end of the line.

"Yes. Let's do it."


	18. Chapter 18

Walking out to the large covered patio, wedding gown on, I smiled at the sight ahead. Fairy lights hung from the wooden beams of the beadboard ceiling. Sixteen white chairs had been set up in place of the usual furniture and were filled with our closest friends and family. And there, in front of the stone fireplace, a white curtain altar had been set up where Andrew was waiting.

He looked sexy, in a crisp grey suit that clung to his muscular figure. Keely stood next to him in a beautiful, burgundy dress holding a sleeping Stella in her arms who was wearing a matching, long sleeve velvet dress. My heart felt like it could burst as I made my way down the aisle and as I said "I do" minutes later, all felt right in the world.

The kiss that followed was one filled with immense love and emotion. We didn't let it heat, not with a patio full of people and our daughters next to us, but it did linger. Our ears barely registered the claps and cheers from those around us as we pulled apart, our only focus on each other.

"I love you." Andrew said quietly.

"I love you, too." I replied, smiling brightly.

We turned then, both of us enveloping Keely and Stella in a hug, and a happy tear slipped down my cheek when Keely said, "I love our family."

After receiving hugs, kisses and congratulations from everyone else, we headed inside to celebrate for the rest of the evening. We were all sitting in the formal dining room for a delicious catered meal, laughing and chatting. Before everyone dug in, I wanted to make a toast, so I stood and raised my glass to get everyone's attention.

"I would like to make a toast to all the beautiful people in this room. To my former teammates from the BAU, I love you all so dearly. We've been on many crazy rides together and our history certainly isn't all joyous, but your love and support mean the world to me, and I'm so blessed not only to call you my friends, but my family. To Rossi, for having us all here and offering to host another wedding. To Megan, I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful sister-in-law and Andrew and I are so thankful that our girls have an amazing aunt to look up to. To Lana, not only for officiating the wedding but for your family. Our friendships with you and Steve have helped both Andrew and I feel more at home here in Denver, so thank you."

I turned then, and my eyes once again started to water as I looked to Keely and Andrew, who was holding a now wide-awake Stella. "And to my family. I love you three so much." The tears started falling steadily again, and though I'd planned to say more, I knew by the look in Andrew and Keely's eyes that what I'd said was enough.

"Cheers!" I managed, sitting down as everyone echoed the sentiment. I looked to Andrew, who smiled and leaned in for a salty kiss. He used his free hand to brush the tears from my cheeks with his thumb and then wrapped his arm around me.

**####**

As the night wore on, everyone broke into groups. Levi and Henry were battling it out in a heated game of foosball in the corner of the basement with Keely and Ethan watching amusedly from the sidelines. Savannah and Megan were on one of the couches with Hank, watching the New Year's Eve show in time square playing on the large projector screen. Lana, Tara and Reid were in deep conversation about something or other over by the bar. JJ, Will, Penelope, Derek, Rossi and Steve were all on the open area of the floor dancing. And just as I start to wonder where Andrew snuck off to, I feel his arms wrap around me and his chin rest on my shoulder.

"She's been a champ today." He says, referring to Stella who was starting to fall back asleep in my arms after her latest feeding. She'll be out for a while now, having been sleeping straight from 11pm-4am for about a week now, her longest stretch.

"She's a blessedly easygoing little lady, that's for sure."

"I brought the bassinet downstairs. I figured neither of us will want her all the way upstairs and have to rely on the monitor with all this activity."

"You're amazing, you know that." I turn my head to face him, smiling. "Thank you." I say before leaning in for a quick kiss.

"Can I take her? I want to cuddle her for a few minutes before we put her down."

"Of course." I transfer her into Andrew's arms with practiced ease. "I'm going to go join JJ and Penelope on the dance floor. Meet you there?"

"Absolutely." He smiles, placing one more peck on my lips before we part ways.

**####**

Dancing with Penelope and JJ, our arms wrapped around each other just as they were 7 years ago at JJ's wedding, brings back so many memories. The last time we danced like this, I was getting ready to leave. Now, it would be JJ and Penelope leaving tomorrow, to go back to DC. It's different though, not sad in the same way it was then; we're all in good places in our lives.

We dance until it's ten minutes to midnight, finally taking a breath, grabbing some drinks and sitting down on the large u-shaped couch to watch the last performance on the NYE countdown in time square before the ball drops. As the clock strikes midnight, everyone cheers and Andrew pulls me in for a heady kiss, our tongues mingling for probably longer than is appropriate in this setting.

As we pull apart, I catch a glimpse of Keely as Ethan's lips are just leaving her cheek. Andrew follows my gaze just in time to see Keely return the gesture, placing a quick peck on Ethan's cheek. Andrew grimaces and I playfully slap his arm, drawing his attention back to me. "He's a good kid and you know it. They're cute together."

"She's my little girl." He frowns.

"She's not so little anymore. She's growing up whether you like it or not." Andrew sighs, his downcast face making me laugh.

**####**

Over the next half hour, everyone makes their way to upstairs to their rooms, finally settling in for the night. With the knowledge that Stella will be out for a couple more hours, I slip into the en suite bathroom, changing into a white silk negligee with lace trim. I fix my make-up and mess with my hair a bit before sneaking back into our room.

Andrew is leaning up against the headboard atop the covers with a book, clad in nothing but his pajama pants. He sets his book down on the nightstand when he sees me come out, the smile on his face immediate.

"Damn, you look sexy." He says. I smirk, making my way over to his side of the bed, climbing on top of him and straddling his legs.

I run my hands over his defined abdomen and up his chest before wrapping my arms around his neck. His hands settle on my hips, his eyes admiring the view of my full breasts before looking up to meet my eyes.

"God, I'm a lucky man." He whispers. I smile, palming the back of his head then and pulling him in for a deep kiss.

Our mouths open immediately, the kiss a hot, wet exchange of tongue, lips and teeth. Andrew's hands roam up my sides, one hand cupping a breast over the fabric of my slip, the other tangling in my hair. The need for air has us breaking apart a minute later, breathing heavily into the space between us. Andrew's eyes are dark with desire and I can feel the evidence of his arousal growing hard between my legs.

"We can't do anything penetrative tonight, I'm not ready for that quite yet, but it's our wedding night and I have full intentions of enjoying some quality time with you." I punctuate my words with a slow grind of my hips against him, reveling in the low moan it draws.

"God, Em. I've missed you." He breathes.

"Good." I reply before leaning in for another kiss. I continue grinding my hips against him, groaning when I feel him start to thrust upward, matching my movements. Andrew's lips leave mine, trailing down my neck and chest. Feeling him pull at one of the straps of my slip, I release my arm from around his neck to slide it out, quickly doing the same with the other so that the negligee falls down my chest, pooling around my hips.

With my breasts free, Andrew eagerly moves his mouth to one, his tongue drawing circles around my nipple while his fingers twist and flick at the other. I gasp as pleasure courses through my body, sending currents straight down to my core and I can feel myself growing slick. Andrew rolls us slightly, so that we're lying side by side on the bed, and grasps the negligee, pulling it down and off, taking my lacy thong along with it. He grips the back of my thigh then, hiking my leg over his before dipping his fingers between my legs.

"Fuck, you're wet babe." He notes as he runs two fingers through my folds, stroking my clit. He starts slow, with teasing passes of his fingers that have my hips bucking against his fingers, trying to create more friction. Finally, he picks up the pace, rubbing back and forth in the rhythm he knows I love. I pull him in for a hard kiss, moaning into his mouth as he builds me up.

"Oh shit." I gasp as he presses more firmly against my sensitive nub. "So close, don't stop." I'm coming before he even has a chance to reply, my back arching, eyes closing as his fingers slow to a circling motion, prolonging my orgasm.

As my breathing returns back to normal, I open my eyes to find him smiling as me. Stroking his cheek, I lean in for a slow kiss. "Your turn." I say seductively, reaching a hand into his pajama pants to wrap my hand around his solid member. We trade a few more lazy kisses as I stroke him lightly, until I rub my thumb across his tip which has him groaning. I grin, sliding down his body and quickly removing his pants. Settling between his legs, I ease his foreskin back, kissing the head of his cock before taking the tip of him into my mouth.

"Oh God, Em." His voice is hoarse.

Taking him a bit deeper, I set a steady pace, bobbing my head up and down, countering the movements of my hand at his base. I lightly scrape my teeth against the sensitive vein on the underside of his shaft, delighting in the muffled curses it draws from him. His hand comes down, fingers intertwining in my hair.

"Fuck, babe. Not going to last much longer, s'been too long."

I twirl my tongue around him, reaching my other hand up to cup his balls. His hips buck slightly as he comes, and I swallow around him. He draws me up when he finishes and I release him with a soft pop. We exchange slow kisses, humming contentedly into each other's mouths.

Andrew pulls the covers down and over us and I curl into his side. It's not long before we're drifting off to sleep, both sated and happy to be entering the new year as Mr. and Mrs.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: I still have several chapters planned for this story, but I've been dabbling with the idea of starting a second one with Emily and Derek. As a new writer, I'd welcome your feedback on whether that would be something you're interested in reading. For now, enjoy some more Prentiss-Mendoza family fluff.

* * *

"Hey, mom?"

I smile hearing Keely's voice from the doorway of my bedroom. Even four months later, my heart still beats a little faster every time she calls me mom. I turn from where I'm standing at the end of the bed folding laundry. "What's up, sweetie?"

Keely makes her way over to the bed, sitting down. "Can you take me shopping?" She asks, reaching into the laundry basket and helping to fold.

"Sure. What are you looking for?"

"Just, a new outfit." She replies almost tentatively.

"Ah, would this have anything to do with your upcoming date with Ethan?"

"No... maybe. Yes." Keely sighs, ducking her head and twisting her fingers in her lap. "Nothing in my closet feels right. And I know he doesn't like me for how I look, considering I'm in athletic wear 90% of the time, but I still want to look good."

I gently place a hand over hers, halting her nervous fidgeting, and she looks up at me. "You don't have to explain yourself, Kee. I get it, I do. I'd be happy to take you shopping."

"Thanks!"

"Your dad and Stella are on the way home from the grocery store, and I'll need to feed her when they get back, but we can go after that if you want."

"Yes, please." She nods.

"Alright, I'm going to finish folding here. Can you go preheat the oven to 375? Your dad said he's picking up some frozen spanakopita for lunch and I'll whip up a caprese salad to go along."

"Ooh, yay! That's my favorite and I'm starving!" I laugh at Keely's eager movements to leave the room and turn the oven on, as if Andrew will somehow be home quicker and get the food cooked faster if she hurries.

I look at the clock then, grimacing slightly at the time. It was 12:10pm, and Stella eats at noon like clockwork. The last month had been a big adjustment in regard to Stella's feedings. The first few weeks of February, she'd started getting fussier, not sleeping as well, and wasn't gaining weight. After a visit with her pediatrician and consultation with a lactation specialist, we found out I wasn't producing enough milk to keep up with Stella's needs.

It took reassurance from JJ and Savannah to get over the feelings of failure that I felt knowing I wasn't able to provide for Stella. After many tears on both Stella's and my part and trying three different types of formulas, Stella was finally getting back to her content, easygoing self. At her four-month appointment last week, she'd gained 1.5lbs and I cried on the phone to Andrew in the car afterwards because I was so happy.

Now, I breastfed for her 12pm, 8pm and 4am feedings and we formula fed her for the feedings in between. Stella ate every four hours without fail and I knew she was likely getting fussy for Andrew. Sure enough, when he came in the house 10 minutes later, it was with a very unhappy Stella crying in her car seat. I quickly pulled Stella out and brought her upstairs to the nursery for a feeding.

**####**

"I know, sweet girl. Just give mommy a minute." I spoke softly as Stella tried to root against my still covered breast. Settling in the rocking chair, I quickly unbuttoned my blouse, freeing one side and adjusting Stella against me, reveling in the feeling as she eagerly latched on. I savored this time with her, especially now that it was less frequent. While it was nice for Andrew to be able to take on some of her feedings, especially the midnight one, I missed the closeness that comes from breastfeeding vs bottle feeding.

"Now she's a happy camper." Andrew's voice startles me out of my reverie and I look up to see him making his way over to us.

"How long was she crying?"

"The whole drive home. The line in the grocery store was atrociously long and I knew it wasn't going to end well."

"She definitely doesn't like not being kept to her schedule." I chuckle, running my fingers through Stella's fine, wispy curls.

"Keely said you guys are going to go out for a bit?"

"Mhmm, we're going to do some shopping. I know you have your afternoon with your work buddies though, so I'll take Stella."

"Actually, I was wondering if you can leave her with me?"

I raise my brow. "You want to take Stella to a bar?" He looks guilty at that. "Don't think I don't know you guys grab a few beers after you play hoops. It's not a bad thing but you can't expect me to let you bring Stella."

Andrew sighs. "I don't want to go. If I have Stella, it gives me a legitimate excuse to back out."

"What? Why not?"

"The bureau is making some cuts, and it looks like I'm going to have to lay off a few people in my department. I don't have the heart to go have a fun afternoon with the guys when I'm going to have to call a few of them into my office Monday morning and let them go. How did you do it as unit chief? Being a boss and a friend."

"That was a way different situation." I start as I pass Stella off to Andrew, buttoning my blouse back up as I continue. "I was friends with almost everyone on the team long before I became the boss, and we all had a tremendous amount of respect for each other and our roles. But when I was running the Interpol office in London, I wasn't close with any of my subordinates. In fact, most people probably thought I was a cold-hearted bitch." I laugh, but it turns to a sigh when Andrew only half-smiles. "I won't tell you that you should go today, frankly I probably wouldn't if I was in your place either, but your team knows you and they won't blame you for doing your job."

"I know." He nods as he gently pats Stella's back.

"Hey." I wait to continue until he looks at me again. "I love you."

He smiles then, a full smile, and leans in for a quick kiss. "I love you, too."

"Let's go eat." I take his free hand as I stand, leading him back downstairs for lunch.

**#### **

"What do you think of this one?" Keely asks, stepping out of the dressing room in a casual blue skater dress.

"Where are you guys going?" I ask, wanting to know the venue before I begin judging outfits.

"Topgolf."

I bite my lip and shake my head. "You look lovely, but I don't think you really want to wear a dress there."

"That's true." She nods in agreement, closing the door and trying on outfit number two. She goes through three more outfits before she finally finds the right one.

She comes out in a pair of dark, high waisted skinny jeans that are ripped at the knee and a wide striped cream and burnt orange sweater. "Perfect."

"Yeah?" Her smile is wide and I can tell she likes it, too.

"Definitely. What do you say we go find a new pair of shoes to go with it?"

"Really?"

"Of course. A girl can never have too many shoes." I wink, knowing she's seen my own extensive shoe collection.

A half an hour later Keely and I are driving home with only the sound of the radio filling the car, until Keely speaks up that is.

"I know I don't say it enough but thank you." She says quietly.

"For what, sweetie?"

"For being there. For being my mom."

I reach across the console, squeezing her hand briefly. "It's my honor."


	20. Chapter 20

The next weekend, I came back from a Pilates class to find Andrew pacing in the bedroom. "What's wrong?" I asked, unlacing my shoes and walking into the closet to change.

"I'm a father with a teenage daughter, that's what's wrong." I saw him plop down on the chaise from where I stood in the closet.

"Uh huh… and?"

"And, when Michelle was pregnant, we made a deal that if it was a girl, she would handle the womanly talks. And now she's not here."

Pulling on a fresh shirt, I walked back into the bedroom, making my way over to sit on the edge of the chaise by Andrew. "You lost me. I know for a fact Keely already started her period so what are we talking about?"

"The sex talk."

"Ahh. Well, do you want me to talk to her?"

"You shouldn't have to do that." He frowned. "This is the conversation every parent dreads and it shouldn't have to be your responsibility."

I sighed. Andrew got like this every now and then, acted like Keely was a burden to me. Normally it was when she was in a bad mood, he'd make sure that the brunt of it would fell on him and would apologize on her behalf.

"Andrew, look at me. You've got to get over this guilt thing, Keely is not a burden to me. I'm glad to be in her life and so lucky she's accepted me so well as a mother figure. Besides," I smirked, "I really don't think she'd take well to her dad giving her the sex talk."

Andrew smiled then, chuckling lightly. "You're not wrong about that." His laugh trailed off, and he looked at me seriously again. "You'd really be ok talking with her?"

"Yes, I really would." I nodded.

"I owe you, big time."

"Mm, you can make it up to me tonight." I replied seductively, leaning in for a quick kiss.

"You can count on it." He promised with a cheeky grin.

**####**

"Knock, knock." I said, lightly rapping on Keely's bedroom door.

"Come in." She called from the other side. I opened the door to find Keely on her bed, reading a book.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure!" Keely set her book down and I took a seat on the end of her bed. "What's up?"

"How are you feeling about your date tonight?"

"Nervous, but excited. It seems like it has been a long time coming."

I smile, nodding in agreement. "And you feel comfortable with Ethan?"

Keely gives me a curious look and then her eyes go wide. "Oh god, are you trying to give me the sex talk?"

"I just want to make sure that you don't feel pressured to do anything you aren't ready for, but also that you're prepared if you are. I remember what it was like to be 15 and while you're much wiser than I was at that age, the peer pressure is still the same. I had sex for the first time at 15 and…"

"You were 15?!" Keely interrupts.

"Yes. I was young and naïve and I thought it would help me fit in. I'm not trying to scare you into not having sex, it can be a beautiful thing with someone you love, and if and when you're ready to do that with Ethan, or someone else, I just want to make sure that you're prepared. I won't lie, I think 15 is too young, but if you need me to go buy some condoms, or if you want me to book you an appointment to get one birth control, I'd rather be content in the knowledge you're being safe than be worried about you."

"No, ok. Don't worry, I'm not planning on having sex and neither is Ethan. And you know him, you know he's not the type of guy to pressure me into something like that. I promise, I will come talk to you if I need to, but please, can we table this discussion for now?"

Equally relieved, I replied. "Yes, we can."

"Good. Dad put you up to this didn't he?"

"I volunteered. It was him or me." I shrugged.

"Well, thanks for that at least." She laughed.

**####**

"Peek-a-boo!" Andrew exclaimed as he revealed his face from behind the washcloth. Stella's laughter rang out through the bathroom, drawing my attention. I stood in the doorway of the master bath, enjoying watching Andrew's interactions with our Stella girl. He played a few more rounds of peek-a-boo before finishing up bath time and as he lifted Stella out of her bath seat and turned around to wrap her in a towel, he smiled as he met my eyes. "Hey you."

"Hi." I greeted, returning his smile and leaning in for a quick peck as he walked past me to the bed. I followed, sitting down beside Stella as he dressed her in a onesie and swaddle pod for bedtime.

"Want to come put her down with me?" Andrew asks.

"Absolutely." We walk upstairs to the nursery, Andrew swaying the whole way to help lull Stella to sleep. He rocks on his heels in front of her crib for a few more moments as I stand half beside and behind him, resting my head on his shoulder as we both look over our baby.

"Goodnight, my little love." I whisper, dropping a kiss to her fine chocolate curls.

"Sweet dreams, Stella girl." Andrew utters as he lays her down in the crib. We both linger a moment longer, watching her sleep peacefully.

After a few minutes, I reach a hand down to Andrew's, lacing our fingers together. "Come on," I say softly. "I believe you promised to make up for my talk with Keely earlier."

"That I did." He grins.


	21. Chapter 21

"Aw, you didn't have to wait up for me, baby." Andrew said from the kitchen when he got home. I turned my head around, raising a finger to my lips to indicate for him to be quiet. He furrowed his brow in confusion, walking into the living room and rounding the couch to see Hank lying next to me, his head resting on my lap as I gently rubbed his back. "Well, this is a surprise." He whispered.

"He got scared by the thunder, I just got him back to sleep." I replied quietly. "How was your case?" I asked as Andrew settled down next to me on the couch.

Andrew sighed. "We got him, just not in time to save the latest victim." He'd been out in the field on a local case for the past few days, not getting back until late at night and leaving early in the morning.

I placed my free hand on Andrew's thigh. "I'm sorry, love. You did your best, that's all we can ever do."

"I know." He nodded, placing his hand over mine and linking our fingers. "So, are you going to tell me what mister Hank Morgan is doing here?"

"I had lunch with Savannah yesterday and we got to talking. You've been busy with the case this week, and Savannah has been busy with the seniors who are in their last rotations. We just noted that between work and kids, we couldn't remember the last time we had a full, uninterrupted night with our husbands, so we made a deal. We have Hank until 2pm tomorrow, and then Derek and Savannah are taking Stella for the night. Keely already had that sleepover with some of the girls on the team planned, so you and me will have a full night with just us." I smiled as I watched Andrew's eyes darken with the prospect of some much-needed time together.

"You, Emily Prentiss-Mendoza are amazing." He smiled, leaning in for a kiss. He trailed his lips down my jaw and neck and I had to bite back a moan.

"Andrew… I have a three-year-old asleep on my lap." He pulled away then, taking a deep breath and reeling himself in. "Tomorrow night I'm all yours, I promise."

"I look forward to it." He winked. "Alright, I'm going to go grab a shower. You good with him?"

"Yeah, I'll go put him back in bed soon."

**####**

The next morning, I awoke to the sounds of laughter. I glanced a look at the alarm clock and was surprised to see it was 8am. Crawling out of bed, I pulled my robe on and made my way out to the living room. I was greeted by the sight of Stella in her swing, with Hank standing in front of her playing peek-a-boo.

"Peek boo!" Hank called out in his sweet toddler voice as he revealed his face from behind a blanket. Stella squealed in delight, smiling her precious toothless smile.

I walked to the kitchen where Andrew was standing at the island, sipping a cup of coffee. I came to stand behind him, wrapping my arms around his body and placing a kiss between his shoulder blades before resting my chin on his shoulder.

"Did you sleep well?" Andrew asked.

"Mm, very, thank you! But you didn't have to turn off my alarm. You've barely slept this whole week, babe. I would've gotten up with the kids."

"I was already up and you looked so peaceful."

I frowned, wondering how long he'd been awake. "This one really got to you didn't it." I said, referring to his latest case. He simply nodded, so I turned him around to face me, placing a hand on his cheek. "You can talk to me, you know. I understand it."

"They were just kids. High schoolers." He said quietly, referring to the victims

"Like Keely." I acknowledged knowingly. "Have you gone up to see her yet?"

He shook his head. "I didn't want to wake her last night."

"Why don't you go wake her now. Go hug your daughter. I'll get breakfast started." He nodded, moving to head upstairs. Before he could get more than two steps away, I reached for his hand, stopping him. "Hey, I love you."

He smiled, stepping back in and placing a soft kiss to my lips. "I love you, too."

**####**

The rest of the morning flew by. Emily made waffles for breakfast, letting a very eager Hank help pour the batter onto the waffle maker. When Andrew and Keely came downstairs, they cut up some fruit to go with breakfast. I smiled at Keely when I noticed her being extra playful with Andrew and letting him hug her just a little more. Andrew never talked cases about his cases with Keely, but she could always sense when one involved kids.

After breakfast, we set out for the park. It was an especially warm day for the middle of May, mid 80s and sunny. Stella was sleeping against my chest in a baby wrap while I pushed Hank on the swings. Andrew and Keely tossed a frisbee in the grass. After a while, Hank wanted to join the "big kids," so Andrew went and pulled out a plastic bat and wiffle ball from the trunk of the SUV and Keely helped him swing while Andrew pitched.

"Kee! I did it!" Hank screamed in delight when he hit the ball without assistance.

"I saw. Good job, kid!" Keely smiled, embracing Hank when he ran over to her for a celebratory hug.

"You hit now?" He asked, handing her the small, plastic bat.

"Sure!" Keely took the bat, standing up and getting into ready stance.

"You ready?" Andrew asked. Keely nodded and Andrew threw the pitch. Keely hit it straight on and the ball went flying directly back towards Andrew. His quick reflexes were the only thing that stopped him from getting hit smack in the face, as he ducked just in time.

Keely threw a hand over her mouth, feeling bad for almost hitting her dad. Andrew looked back to where the ball landed behind him, then looked back at Keely. "Oh, you think this is funny?" Andrew joked as he noted that Keely was trying to hide her laughter.

"Sorry!" Keely managed between bouts of giggles.

As I watched from a bench on the sidelines, I smiled at the look of joy on Andrew's face, knowing this morning was just what he needed. Keely gave Hank the bat back then, and they played for nearly another half and hour before everyone decided that an ice cream run was in order.

**####**

"Ok, I packed plenty of outfits and diapers for her, two pacifiers, and her sleeper. Her formula is in the front with two bottles and her feeding schedule. She typically goes to sleep after her 9pm feeding and stays down until about 5:30am, but if she wakes up at all, a 2oz bottle and she's back out like a light. Oh, and her lovey is in the side pocket and…"

"Babe, they got it." Andrew tells me as he wrap an arm around my shoulder.

Derek laughed. "You know Em, when you joined the BAU all those years ago, I'd never have imagined this side of you could exist."

"Oh hush." I said, playfully slapping his arm. "We've never left her overnight before."

"I remember the first time we left Hank overnight with Derek's mom, I was a wreck." Savannah sympathized. "I promise we'll call if we need anything but try to enjoy your night."

"We will." Andrew ensured.

With that, Derek and Savannah went on their way with Hank and Stella. Keely had gotten picked up an hour ago for her sleepover with some of the girls from the tennis team, so it was just Andrew and I.

"Now, Mrs. Prentiss-Mendoza, how would you like to spend the afternoon?" Andrew asked as he sauntered over to me after closing the front door.

"I think first-off a nap is in order." I replied. Andrew frowned, clearly having other plans in mind. "You've barely gotten any sleep this whole week, and if you want to take full advantage of an empty house tonight, you're going to need your rest."

"Fair enough. A nap it is." He smiled, taking my hand and leading me to the bedroom.


	22. Chapter 22

After waking up from a refreshing nap, we'd settled on going to a Rockies game that night. They were playing the Red Sox, which was Andrew's favorite team. As I was finishing up my make-up in the bathroom with my robe on, Andrew stepped out of the shower. I watched his reflection in the mirror as he wrapped a towel around his waist.

He met my eyes in the mirror and smirked. "Enjoying the view?"

"Always." I replied, turning around as he walked towards me. He settled his hands on my hips and leaned in for a hard kiss. I let out a moan as our tongues intertwined, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and pulling him closer. I tilted my head when he ran his lips down my neck, giving him further access. Andrew dropped his hands from my hips, bending down and hooking them around the back of my legs. He lifted me up with ease, setting me down on the edge of the counter.

"We have to leave in 20 minutes if we want to make it in time for the first pitch." I noted, not truly caring but knowing baseball was this man's favorite sport and he very well might.

"I can be quick. We have all night to take our time later." He murmured against my collar bone before untying the knot of my robe and pulling it open. He eagerly dipped his head down to my left breast, pulling a nipple into his mouth and sucking gently.

_Fine by me._ I thought as I tipped my head back in delight, arching my chest forward. It didn't take long after that, Andrew working me up with his hands before dropping his towel and entering me in one swift move. I slipped a hand down, rubbing my clit to speed things along as he moved in quick, sharp thrusts. I fell hard and fast, moaning my release into his mouth as our lips met in a wet kiss. Andrew came a few moments later and I tightened my legs around him, holding him inside.

**####**

"These seats are fantastic." Andrew noted as we sat down. We'd purchased seats on the third base line, second row up right next to the visitor's dugout.

"I know, I can't believe they were open last minute." I agreed. I may not pay that much attention to baseball, but after almost three years with Andrew I knew the basics, and I knew that seats on the third base line were prime.

We settled down with our beers, chatting casually while we waited for the game to start. Once it did, Andrew gave me the stats of every Red Sox player who stepped up to bat, despite the fact that they were also displayed on the big screen. I indulged it, enjoying the energy and excitement radiating off of him. Andrew had played baseball all through high school and college, so he was serious about the sport and got really into it.

He stood up at the seventh inning stretch. "I'm going to go get a hotdog. Do you want anything?"

"A pretzel sounds amazing, thank you." He leaned down for a quick kiss before heading off to brave the lines.

I texted with Savannah while he was gone, checking in and making sure all was good. She confirmed everything was going smoothly and sent a picture of Stella asleep on Derek's chest from her afternoon nap and a short video of Hank laying on the carpet with Stella, Hank rolling over and Stella mimicking his movements. I sent a quick text to Keely, too, confirming her plans for tomorrow and wishing her a fun night with her friends.

Andrew made it back to his seat just as the game started back up, carefully balancing food and two bottles of water in his hands. I took the bottles from him as he sat down and he passed me my pretzel, as well as a little helmet of soft serve.

"I don't remember asking for this."

"You didn't, but I saw it and thought about your first visit to me in the hospital after the machete case. We had dinner, but I never did take you to a ball game or get you a hat ice cream in it."

I smiled, shaking my head at his sentiments. "I love you."

"I love you, too." He replied. We ate our food in relative silence, our focus on the game. Andrew took my hand in his awhile later, raising it to his lips and pecking my knuckles before resting our joined hands on his leg. We continued to watch the game until a kid in front of us drew our attention sometime during the 10th inning.

"Hey, that's you!" He said, turning around to face us and pointing at the big screen. Sure enough Andrew and I were being highlighted for the kiss cam. We looked back to each other before smiling and leaning in for a quick kiss. It was brief and we pulled apart in a second, neither of us wanting to be overly affectionate on a public screen, but it still held heat and I found myself eagerly awaiting our return to the house. Andrew must've felt it too, because a moment later he tilted his head to whisper in my ear.

"You ready to get out of here?"

I looked at him in shock. It wasn't that I didn't want to, but Andrew loved baseball and the game was almost over. "You don't want to wait for the end of the game?" I confirmed.

"Red Sox are up 9 to 2. Not that it couldn't turn around in the last two innings, but I'm ready to go home with my wife." He smiled.

I returned the gesture, letting him take my hand and lead us out of the ballpark.

**####**

The minute we got home I was pulling Andrew into the bedroom. He pressed me against the bedroom door the moment we got inside, our mouths meeting and tongues sliding against each other. Andrew moaned as I slid my hands under his tee and raked my nails against his chest. Clothes were discarded quickly and Andrew, for the second time that day, bent down to wrap his arms around my thighs, lifting me easily.

He carried me over to the bed this time, dropping me on top of the covers. I scooted back further towards the middle of the bed as Andrew crawled on top of me, sighing as he sucked lightly on my pulse point. I reached a hand down between us, clasping a hand around him and stroking slowly and letting my thumb rub across his tip. Andrew dropped his forehead to my chest, groaning in pleasure. He dropped another kiss to my lips before working his way downward. I was eager for what I knew was coming, but Andrew was in a teasing mood. He kissed his way all the way down one leg before slowly working his way back up my inner thigh and crossing over to do the same to my other leg. I huffed out in impatience as he skipped over where I was already wet and needy.

"Patience love, we have all night." He smirked.

"Not my strong suit." I reminded, to which he merely chuckled. Finally swiped his tongue through my folds lightly before latching his lips around my clit and sucking hard.

"Oh god." I whispered, throwing a hand over my mouth while I gripped the sheets with the other. Andrew flicked his tongue over me for a moment longer before stopping, grasping my wrist and pulling my hand away from my mouth. I raised my head to look at him.

"Remember, it's just us tonight, love. No kids to be quiet for. I want to hear you and I have full intentions on making you scream." He punctuated his declaration with another hard suck on my clit, bringing his fingers into the mix as well as sinking two easily into my core.

"Fuck, yes!" I moaned, dropping my head back down on the mattress.

**####**

I woke slowly the next morning, drifting in and out of consciousness before fully opening my eyes a few minutes later. Andrew was curled up behind me, and I smiled as he subconsciously pulled me tighter against him when I shifted. I looked at the clock, noting it was only 7:30am and we still had a few hours until the kids got home. We'd stayed up late last night, making love early into the morning before finally curling up to sleep.

I decided to let Andrew continue sleeping for a while longer, crawling out of bed carefully so as not to wake him and making my way to the kitchen. I brewed a pot of coffee while prepping egg, ham and swiss crepe wraps. I sliced some avocado to go on the side and set the plates of food on a breakfast tray. Placing two fresh mugs of coffee on the tray as well, I made my way back to the bedroom.

I set the food on my nightstand, sitting on the bed and running my fingers lightly over Andrew's cheek before leaning in a placing a kiss there. He mumbled sleepily before opening his eyes. "Good morning, handsome."

He smiled slowly, still waking up. "Mm, good morning." He sat up and stretched. "What smells so good?"

"Breakfast." I replied, reaching over to grab the tray and setting it back down in the middle of the bed.

Andrew leaned over placed a soft kiss to my lips. "This is amazing. Thank you, baby."

"You're welcome."

We sat in bed for a while, munching on food and sipping our coffee slowly. It had been a wonderful night and we were soaking up the peace and quiet together, but by the time Savannah dropped Stella off later than morning and Keely arrived back after lunch, we were happy to have our girls home.


	23. Chapter 23

"My goodness, she's getting so big!" Lana said as I made my way up the small set of bleachers outside the tennis courts.

"Tell me about it. She's six-months-old today." I replied lifting Stella out. "You want to hold her?"

"Yes, please!" Lana held out her arms and I passed Stella over. "Oh, hello sweet girl!"

"How was this morning?" I asked in reference to the matches. The tennis invitational had kicked off early this morning, starting with JV. Varsity was playing now. Lana was there in part because Steve helped coach the JV team and in part to support Keely, who played Varsity.

"JV won their first round of matches 4-2, so they'll play again at 3pm. I heard coach is having Keely play #3 singles today."

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, she's nervous but excited." Keely had always played #1 doubles, but her coach had been pushing her more and more to play singles. She'd been practicing hard and since this wasn't a conference tournament, the coach decided it was a good time for her to try it out.

"I'm sure she'll do great!"

We watched the doubles matches play out, which were over quickly. The singles matches had been going for about 10 minutes when I caught sight of a familiar looking face on the bleachers across the court. "Oh my gosh." I whispered.

"Huh?" Lana asked, her attention drawn away from babbling with Stella as she bounced her on her lap.

"I think that's Keely's mom, there in the blue." I pointed discreetly.

"I thought Keely wasn't in contact with her mom."

"She's not, at least not that I know of. She hasn't mentioned Michelle in months."

I texted Andrew, curious if he knew anything about Michelle being here. Unsurprisingly, he called me a few moments after the text marked _read._

"Michelle's at the match?" Were the first words out of his mouth when I answered.

"She just showed up a minute ago. So, you don't know anything about this either?"

"No, Keely hasn't mentioned her in months. I don't like this. Keely was so heartbroken this summer, I don't want Michelle toying with her emotions again."

_My thoughts exactly, _I thought. "I know, I'll keep an eye on Keely. How are the meetings?"

"Ugh, don't ask. Just be glad you aren't a unit chief anymore. Your text was a good excuse for me to sneak out for a minute, so thank you."

"Anytime." I laughed. "Alright, I'll keep you updated on things here. See you tonight, I love you."

"I love you, too, Em."

**####**

Keely demolished her opponent 6-3, 6-1. When all the matches that round were over, Lana and I waited until the coach finished talking with the players before going to find her. She was standing off to the side of the field behind the courts with Ethan when we spotted her.

"Keely!" I called out, not wanting to roll Stella's stroller in the lawn. She smiled and ran over, giving me a loose side hug, still sweaty from the match. "You did great, kiddo! I'm so proud of you!" I said as we pulled apart.

"Coach isn't going to want to let you go back to doubles after that. Good job!" Lana commended.

"Thank you! It went better than..." Keely trailed off as she glanced behind us, her body stiffening. I turned to see Michelle standing a few feet away, looking awkward and more than a little perturbed.

"I thought I told you not to come." Keely said, her tone harsh.

"I missed seeing you play." Michelle replied, unphased by Keely's sudden change in demeanor.

"Yeah, well I don't need you here. I haven't needed you in almost a year now, so you can get the hell away from me."

"Don't talk to your mother like that." Michelle demanded, raising her eyebrow.

"You're not my mother, not anymore." Keely said coldly.

Michelle went to reply, moving a step forward, but I'd had enough. I stepped in front of Keely and held a hand up toward Michelle. "I think you should go, Michelle. Keely clearly doesn't want you here. Please, don't make this any worse."

Michelle huffed and stared for a long moment before finally stalking off. I turned around and Keely immediately fell into my arms. I embraced her tightly, my heart breaking for her. She cried into my shoulder for a brief moment, then pulled back and wiped her eyes. I could see her steeling herself, shutting out her emotions.

"Sweetie…" I spoke softly, reaching for her hand but she pulled away.

"I'm fine." She said, grabbing her bag. "I need to go warm up before the next round."

"Coach said not for another half an hour." Ethan pointed out.

Keely glared at him. "I'm going to warm up, you can either come feed balls for me or I'll find someone else." And then she was off. Ethan sighed and looked to Lana.

"Go. Be home by 10pm." Lana said knowingly.

Ethan nodded, then looked to me, smiling sadly. "I'll watch out for her," he said before following after Keely to the practice courts.

**####**

The rest of the day was painful. Keely pulled through on another big win for her second match, but when she climbed into the car to go home, she kept her headphones in, a clear sign she didn't want to talk. Andrew was home when we got back and Keely unenthusiastically engaged in talk about her match and then asked if she could go to bed. Andrew sighed sadly but let her go, knowing that pushing wouldn't do any good.

I busied myself giving Stella a bath and her nightly bottle, then laid her down for bed. I heard a sniffle from Keely's room when I was closing the door to Stella's and couldn't help myself. I knocked on her door and opened it slightly. Keely was curled up in bed, tear tracks down both cheeks and eyes puffy. "Oh, sweetheart." I moved to sit on the side of her bed and was surprised when Keely curled into me, moving to rest her head on my lap and wrapping her arms around my waist.

She didn't say anything and I didn't push, simply whispering soothing words as I stroked her hair and brushed the tears from her cheeks. She was asleep in minutes, exhausted from both the physical and emotion tolls of today. I carefully shifted her so her head was resting on her pillow and stood, pulling her covers over her and placing a soft kiss to her brow.

Andrew was on the other side of the door when I exited her room and I pulled him into my arms, knowing if my own heart was breaking for Keely that his was shattered.

"I hate her." Andrew whispered, his voice thick with emotion, and I knew he was talking about Michelle.

"I know, I know."

**####**

The next morning, Andrew and I were both on the living room floor playing with Stella when Keely came downstairs. She settled on the couch and wrapped herself in a blanket.

"Hey champ, how are you doing?" Andrew asked.

"Better. I'm sorry for shutting you out last night." She spoke quietly.

"You don't have to apologize, Kee. You have every right to take time to process."

"Are you ready to talk, sweetie?" I asked softly.

Keely nodded. "She texted me last week. She heard about the invitational from one of the PTA moms that she's friends with. She asked what times I was playing, said she wanted to come watch." Keely sighed deeply. "I told her in no uncertain terms that she wasn't to come. She had no right. No right to want to come. She didn't respond to a single text or call for months after she left, and suddenly she thinks she can waltz back in?" Keely's voice rose as she spoke, tears welling in her eyes.

Andrew got up off the floor and set next to Keely, pulling her to him and holding her. "You don't have to see her if you don't want to, baby. I'll talk to her, just say the word."

"Does that make me a bad daughter?" Keely whimpered.

"No! I don't ever want you to think that, ok? Nothing could be farther from the truth."

Andrew embraced Keely for another long moment before reaching his arm our to where I was now standing with Stella. I smiled, walking over and gladly indulging in a family hug. When I sat down on Keely's other side, she loosened her drip around Andrew and leaned into me.

"We love you so much, Kee." I affirmed.

Andrew called Michelle the next day. He reamed her for upsetting Keely again and when he finally gave Michelle a chance to talk, she promised not to bother her again. It took a few weeks before things were fully back to normal, before Keely was her usual, happy self, but with every day that Michelle kept her word Keely regained a bit more confidence.


	24. Chapter 24

"Ready Stella?" Keely whispered to her little sister as we walked toward master bedroom. Stella babbled happily back at her sister. "Alright, go get him Stell." Keely set Stella down on the bed and she crawled over to Andrew, hands patting his back over the sheets.

Andrew mumbled and rolled over, a tired smile immediately lighting up his face when he saw Stella and Keely. "Well good morning." He greeted, his voice thick with sleep. He moved to sit up against the headboard, taking Stella in his lap and wrapping an arm around Keely who had scooted next to him.

"Happy Father's Day, dad!"

"Thank you, baby girl." Andrew replied softly as dropped a kiss to the top of Keely's head. He looked up to the doorway, where I was standing with the breakfast tray. I smiled, finally moving into the room and sitting down at the end of the bed, setting down the tray of food.

"Ooh, are those your cinnamon apple pancakes?"

"Mhmm," I nod.

"Eat up, dad. We have a full day planned." Keely pecked Andrew's cheek and got up. I waited for her to leave and then stood as well.

"Happy Father's Day, love." I said, pecking Andrew's lips and picking Stella up off his lap. "We're leaving in an hour. Keely and I have got everything ready, so just take your time and dress casual."

**#### **

"So, are you going to tell me where we're going yet?" Andrew asked from the back seat as we drove.

"Only that we're close." Keely replied, and she was right. Not even two minutes later we were pulling into the parking lot of one of the golfing ranges that Andrew frequented. The special thing about this range was that they also had a lengthy mini golf course. "So, you ready to get your butt kicked?" Keely asked with a smirk as she looked back at Andrew from the passenger seat.

"Ha, you think you have a chance?" Andrew replied as we climbed out of the SUV.

I made my way to the trunk, pulling the baby carrier out and starting to strap it on when Andrew stopped me. "Can I take her?" He asks.

"Of course, you never have to ask. I'll help you get her in." I smile.

"Oh, you're definitely going down if you're going to have Stella." Keely ensures as she walks past.

"Not going to happen." Andrew replies in a sing-song voice.

Sure enough, Andrew sinks the first three holes in one. Keely follows suit, so they decide to switch things up. They do the next hole one handed, non-dominant. The following with their eyes closed, then through their legs backwards and so on. When they're still tied on the last hole, they agree to allow each other to stand wherever they want to try and block the shot and see how many it takes. Keely makes it in 5 shots and I can tell Andrew is close on his 5th, probably going to make it, so I stick my putter out at the last second to block his shot for her.

"Yes! Nice one, mom!" Keely shouts as she reaches over for a high five before moving inside to turn in her putter.

Andrew gasps mockingly, his jaw dropping as he looks at me. "You're supposed to be on my side."

"I'll make it up to you later." I whisper seductively as I pass him to follow Keely. I smile as I hear him mutter _damn, I love that woman. _

**#### **

"So, what's next?" Andrew asked when we were back in the car.

"Let's just say you're going to need a swimsuit." Keely replied.

"Swimsuit?" Andrew repeated in a pondering tone. He was quiet for a minute and then noted where we were getting off the highway. "Ooh, did Derek and Savannah finally finish the pool?"

"Told you he'd figure it out." I said to Keely.

She shook her head with a smile. "I didn't think he would think we would go to someone _else's _house on Father's Day."

"They're practically family." Andrew noted. "So, I'm right?"

"Yes, Derek finished the landscaping around the pool over the week and today is the official unveiling, so to speak." Derek had done all the work for their in ground pool in the backyard and been working hard for the past few weeks to have it all done for today.

Hank and Derek greeted us out front when we pulled up, both already in their swimsuits.

"Kee!" Hank shouted as Keely got out of the car.

"Hey, little man!" She ran over and scooped him into a hug. Keely had started babysitting for them frequently this past year, for date night or just to allow Derek to run to the store child free. Sometimes he dropped off Hank at our house and we all got to see him, and sometimes we brought Keely over to their house, but regardless of where they were, Hank was crazy about Keely. She'd become his honorary big sister.

I let Andrew get some of the bags in from the trunk, now that seeing our food contributions and the swimwear I'd packed wouldn't spoil any surprises. We all got changed and headed out back.

"Derek, this looks great!" I admired. The pool was a classic rectangular shape, with a diving board at the deep end and stairs leading into the shallow end. Derek had placed tiled stone around the pool, which was then separated from the rest of the yard by a garden. It was simplistic but inviting and oh so relaxing.

Derek and Andrew talked schematics and construction while Keely eagerly got into the pool with Hank, who was wearing adorable arm floaties with crabs on them. Savannah came out with a pitcher of lemonade as I was getting Stella lotioned up. She was wearing a black strapless one-piece suit and as she turned to the side, I noticed how the material clung to her ever so slightly swollen abdomen.

She must've noticed my stares because she put a hand to her stomach and smiled. "We were going to tell you guys later today."

"Savannah!" I stood up with Stella still in my arms and pulled her in for a side hug. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you!"

"When are you due?"

"December 15th." She smiled. "He or she is going to be just over a year younger than Stell."

"Oh, that will be so fun. I'm so happy for you guys! Does Hank know he's going to be a big brother?"

"Yes and he's quite adamant about wanting a little sister. He says he wants a baby Stella for our house." We both laughed and Stella, who heard her name in conversation, started babbling happily.

It was a wonderful afternoon of fun in the sun. Stella loved the water, which wasn't a huge surprise as she was a big fan of bath time as well, but it was a joy to see her smiling and splashing in the water. Keely, Derek and Andrew had cannonball contests off the diving board, which Derek won in a landslide. As the little two both napped that afternoon, Savannah and I prepped salad and sliced watermelon and fired up the grill for steaks. We ate an early dinner and swam for a little bit longer before parting ways with hugs and an open invitation to the pool for the summer.

**#### **

When we got back home, we lit the fireplace in the living room and settled in for a movie. Andrew chose Central Intelligence, to which Keely laughed, saying he could never pick a movie that didn't have to do with a cop or some sort of agent. When the movie finished, Stella was asleep on Andrew's chest, Keely curled into his side barely keeping her eyes open. As Keely stood up, her eyes opened wide as if in recognition.

"I forgot your gift." She said, a burst of energy hitting her as she ran upstairs. She came back a moment later and handed Andrew a small box with a bow on top. He opened it to reveal a new leather wallet with a monogrammed _AM_ on the bottom right corner.

"I know you love your current wallet but admit it, it's a little beat up." She smiled.

"It is and I love this. Thank you, Kee!" Andrew pulled her in for a hug, careful not to wake Stella in the process, then stood with Keely to go upstairs. He put Stella to bed and bid Keely goodnight while I quickly washed the bowls from our ice cream.

"Thank you for a wonderful day." Andrew said when he came back down.

"The days not over." I smiled as I pulled a wrapped bottle from where I had hidden it in a cupboard above the microwave.

Andrew raised his eyebrow and unwrapped a bottle of Macallan 18 Year Sherry Oak, one of his favorite single malt whiskeys. "Woman, you are amazing." He said, setting the bottle down on the counter and pulling me in for a long hug.

"I'm glad you enjoyed your day."

"Well, minus that little stunt you pulled at mini golf." He pulled back, a grin on his face. "In fact, I seem to recall you saying you'd make up for that."

"Mm, that I did." I said leaning in for a kiss. Just as Andrew moved to deepen it, I pulled away, smirking. "Meet me in the bedroom in five."


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: This will probably be my last update for a few weeks as I focus all my time and energy on finishing out the semester. I hope you enjoy.

As always, I do not own CM or any of the character.

* * *

"_Wheels up. Wheels up. Emily, wake up. Wheels up. Babe, wake up."_ The voices mixed in my head as Scratch's face looked down on me.

"Emily!" The urgency of Andrew's voice finally woke me from my nightmare and I shot up in bed.

"I'm up." I whisper, rubbing my hands across my face. Andrew sat up next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and rubbing lightly with his thumb.

"Scratch?" I nod and he pulls me closer, kissing my brow. "You're safe, love. You're safe."

I take a deep breath and let Andrew hold me for a moment longer before getting up. A glance at the clock tells me it's early, but not terribly so.

"Where are you going?" Andrew asks in a concerned voice.

"A run. I just need to clear my head."

Andrew gets up and grabs his t-shirt from the chaise as I change into a pair of leggings and a tank. I kiss him softly before slipping out of the house, grounding myself in him for a moment before letting the slap of the pavement do the rest of the work in settling my emotions. When I return, he is sitting at the kitchen island, sipping a cup of coffee and still in his pajama pants. It was nearing 7am and he would usually be dressed and getting ready to head into work.

"Are you not going in today?" I ask as I walk behind him, running my hand across his back as I go to the fridge for water.

"There's some stuff I'll do remotely for a short bit, but other than that I'm off."

"Not that I wouldn't love to have you home but it's not because of me, right?"

"Not because of this morning, no but it is a little bit because of you. Do you know what today is?"

It's a Friday, just a normal Friday as far as I can think. Andrew smiles as he watches me furrow my brow, deep in thought. "Today, is one year since you moved to Denver."

Damn, a glance at the calendar hanging on the side of the fridge confirms he's right. "God, it feels like so much longer."

"I hope that's in a good way." He laughs.

"No, I mean yes, I… so much has happened that if feels like it can't possibly have only been a year, but it has all been good. I love life with you here in Denver." I smile.

"I do too, but I know there are parts of DC that you miss. And people."

"Well, of course but we'll see them at Thanksgiving."

"Yes, we will." Andrew nods but his left eye is twitches, a sign that he's hiding something.

I narrow my gaze as I approach him, moving to stand between his legs as he turns on the bar stool. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Once a profiler, always a profiler." Andrew shakes his head, chuckling lightly. "We have some visitors coming today for a long weekend."

"Oh?" I raise my brow. "And who would that be?"

Andrew smiles, pausing for a long moment. "JJ, Will and Henry."

I gasp. "Are you serious?"

"I wouldn't tease about that. They land at 1pm and are here through Sunday evening."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" I ask as I wipe a happy tear from my cheek, inwardly cursing my inability to control my emotions since becoming a mother.

"We weren't 100% sure whether they'd be able to come until yesterday and JJ didn't want to get your hopes up only to get called in on a case."

"She knows I would understand. Ah, I can't believe they're coming." I shake my head as I pull Andrew in for a hug, whispering my thanks to this wonderful man.

**####**

"Hello, hello!" JJ is smiling brightly as she walks in the front door, Will, Henry and Andrew following close behind.

I rush to greet her, pulling her into a tight embrace. "You're here!"

"I missed you." JJ says as we pull apart.

I exchange hugs with Will and Henry, who is growing like a weed and almost as tall as me now. Andrew helps carry their bags upstairs to the guest room while JJ follows me into the living room.

"Oh, there she is! Hello, sweet girl." JJ picks Stella up from the play mat. "Oh you're getting so big!" Stella giggles as JJ bounces her in her arms and I smile at the interaction.

"Where is Keely?" I hear Henry ask as he comes back downstairs.

"She's at the neighborhood courts playing tennis with Ethan. I thought we could take a walk over there if you guys want to stretch your legs a bit."

"Yes, please! I haven't flown commercial in a while and I forgot how small those seats were." JJ cringes and I laugh. The whole team definitely got spoiled with the jet.

"We have a soccer ball we can bring too, there's an open field we can play around on." Andrew notes.

"Yes! We haven't played in ages, mom." Henry rushes to put his shoes back on, eager for the potential to kick a ball around for a bit.

20 minutes later we make it to the tennis courts. Keely and Ethan immediately stop their practice match to greet our guests and Ethan jumps at the opportunity to join in on a soccer game. We spend a fair portion of the next hour outside, playing and laughing around. That night, Andrew and Will stayed home with the kids while JJ and I went out for a girls' night.

"God, I haven't been out like this in ages." I remark as I take a sip of the margarita I'd ordered.

"Believe me, it's mutual. We've had back to back cases since the start of summer."

"How's everything going?"

"It's good. Rossi's considering retiring, again, and we have a new agent starting next month. How about you? How's full-time motherhood treating you?"

"Amazing. Honestly, I thought I'd miss working, and I do some days but, I wouldn't trade it for the world. Stella is growing like a weed and Keely starts her sophomore year of high school in a couple weeks. She's already started conditioning for volleyball this fall."

JJ smiles. "It suits you."

"Thank you. So how are you and Will?"

"We're good. Will just got promoted to Captain and it's been great. He has a lot more paperwork but he can bring it home and he's not out on the streets as much. It was also a big ego boost for him because he's been… well, let's just say in a good mood ever since." She winks.

"Smooth." I laugh at her insinuation.

"Look, I'm not saying things weren't fine before but after so many years together, we were definitely starting to hit a rut. What about you and Andrew?"

"Oh, we're good. I mean, don't get me wrong it's a lot different than our weekends in DC when Keely was out here and Stella wasn't born but, we find time."

"Well, the guys gave us tonight but how about Will and I give you and Andrew the evening out tomorrow."

"Oh, JJ, no. You're only in town for a few days and I don't want to miss time with you."

"I really wouldn't mind. I've been looking forward to spending time with my goddaughter and I think Keely and I got along well enough over Christmas. Just think about it."

"Alright, I'll think about it. Now," I smirk playfully. "I've heard rumors about Garcia and Alvez and I want details."

"Oh, we're going to need another round of drinks for this." JJ grins and flags over the waiter.

We stay out late and have a few more drinks than we probably should, catching up and gossiping late into the night, and I soak up every second.

**####**

Andrew and I do end up going out the following evening, Derek and Savannah coming over to our house to spend time with JJ while we're out, which makes me feel a bit less guilty for leaving. It's a much-needed night with my guy, just the two of us, no teenagers or infants to worry about. We eat, we laugh, and we spend more than a few minutes making out like teenagers in the car before heading home.

We make it back in time to have a nightcap with Derek and Savannah before they head out. Well, with Derek at least; Savannah sticks to her strawberry lemonade as she rubs her growing stomach. I can feel Andrew's eyes on me all evening as I fall into familiar banter with JJ and Derek. Later that night as I'm brushing my teeth, I catch sight of Andrew in the mirror, leaning against the door-frame of the master bath.

"What?" I ask after I rinsed my mouth.

"Nothing, I've just loved watching you this weekend. Not that I don't think you're happy here but there's been a different lightness to you with JJ around. And it was fun to watch you two team up on Derek."

"It felt like old times." I agree as I wrap my arms around his neck. "I love you."

"I love you, too." He smiles, leaning in for a kiss.

We have a full house, so I'm not expecting him to deepen it, to try and start something else but he does. Our clothes come off quickly and the next thing I know I'm sitting in his lap, Andrew on the edge of the bed with my legs wrapped tightly around him as he buries himself deep inside.

His thrusts are slow but deep and I have to bite my lip to keep from moaning too loudly as I circle my hips above him. I lean back, Andrew's strong arms supporting me as he ducks his head and takes a nipple in his mouth, sucking softly. He shifts one hand down to my ass, shifting us ever so slightly as he works me against him but it's perfect.

I fall forward as the next rock of our hips has him hitting perfectly inside of me, capturing his lips in a passionate kiss. Andrew tries to slip a hand between us to help me along, and as much as I love him for anticipating my needs, I don't need it.

"Don't." I gasp. "I'm so close, just keep going."

"That's so hot." Andrew smirks as he brings his hand back up, squeezing a breast instead. "Come for me, baby."

I roll my hips against him in time with his thrusts. I'm so close, right on the edge and finally the dam breaks. I come hard, writhing in his lap as I bite his shoulder to keep from crying out. Andrew slows to a near stop as I ride the waves of pleasure, following behind me as my breath returns to normal. We sit for a moment longer, content in each other's embrace before Andrew stands and carries me into the bathroom.

We take a quick shower, rinsing off the sweat and sex before tossing on pajamas and crawling into bed. I drift of to sleep easily, content in Andrew's arms and looking forward to the last day of this wonderful weekend.


	26. Chapter 26

Our weekend with JJ and the family flew by and before we knew it, the start of a new school year was only a few days away. Andrew and I had vowed to make the last weekend before the start of sophomore year fun for Keely but sweet Stella had come down with a cold, which while ironic for the summertime, put a hitch in our plans. Keely and I still went out and did some monetary damage getting some new clothes for the year and Kee got her hair done before we both got manicures.

The night before school started, it was tradition for Keely to choose where she wanted to eat dinner which was then following by ice cream. Keely assured us she was fine grilling out at home this year, not wanting either Andrew or I to have to stay home with Stella but I insisted Andrew at least take her out for ice cream after, not wanting the tradition to be ruined entirely.

I was on the couch when they returned home from the outing, holding Stella up against my chest to help her breathing. The poor thing was so congested and had only been able to sleep if held upright. "So, what comes next on the night before school tradition?" I asked as they walked into the living room.

"Movie time." Andrew informed as he sat down beside me.

"Oh, and what is your pick Kee?" I asked, turning to face her.

"Clueless." Keely replied, a wide grin on her face as Andrew groaned. "Hey, we suffered through Airplane on _your_ last movie night pick."

"That movie is a classic." Andrew defended.

Keely shook her head. "That movie is stupid."

"Em, back me up babe."

"Sorry love, not happening."

Andrew huffed out a breath playfully. "Fine. I'll go make the popcorn."

"You guys just got back from ice cream." I noted.

"And?" Andrew and Keely replied simultaneously, making me laugh. The mood was light as we all settled in on the couch to watch the movie. When it was over, Keely reluctantly put together her backpack for the morning and went upstairs to change into pajamas.

"What do you want for breakfast tomorrow?" I asked as she came back downstairs for a quick glass of water before calling it a night.

"Hmm, ooh can you make your breakfast quesadillas?"

"Absolutely." I replied, kissing her brow as I passed her and headed to bed myself. "Sleep well."

"You, too."

_Doubtful_, I thought, knowing I'd be up and down with Stella all night again. I just hoped Keely would be able to sleep through it.

**####**

Rolling over in bed sometime early the next morning, I was surprised to find Andrew's side empty. A glance at the clock told me it was far too early for him to up for work yet or even a morning run. _He let me sleep_, I thought, not having recalled hearing Stella cry since I was last up with her around 1am and it was nearing 5am now. There was no way she had slept four hours straight.

Rolling out of bed, I grabbed my robe and slid into a pair of slippers. Walking into the living room, I found Andrew on the couch, eyes closed, feet stretch out to rest on the edge of the coffee table. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of pajama pants, with Stella asleep against his chest and a soft blanket draped over the both of them. They were a beautiful sight, so peaceful and content.

I quietly made my way over to sit beside him, Andrew's eyes fluttering open with the shifting of the cushions and he smiled. "Good morning. How did you sleep?"

"Surprisingly well." I replied, curling into his side as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder. I sighed contentedly, letting my head fall against his shoulder. "You didn't have to get up with her. You have work, you need your sleep." I whispered quietly, reaching over and gently cupping the back of Stella's head, rubbing my thumb soothingly over her soft curls.

"You've been up with her the past two nights. Besides, I'm quite enjoying the cuddles. She's growing so fast. They both are." I hummed my agreement and nodded gently before my eyes drifted close again, the feel of Andrew's fingers running up and down my arm putting me back to sleep.

**####**

I'm startled awake again by the sound of a plastic cup falling in the kitchen. Andrew woke as well but stayed still as Stella was still blessedly asleep. I stood from the couch, making my way into the kitchen and ran a hand over Keely's shoulder as I walked directly toward the coffee maker.

"Sorry." Keely spoke softly. "I was trying not to wake you guys yet."

"Oh, that's sweet but you don't have to worry about that, kiddo." I smiled. "I'll get breakfast going."

"Thanks, mom." Keely pecked my cheek before running upstairs to get dressed.

Keely was still getting ready when I finished breakfast, so I covered the quesadillas with tinfoil to keep them warm and walked back over to the couch where Andrew was still sitting with Stella. "You're going to be late if you don't start getting ready."

Andrew frowned. "This is the longest stretch she's slept in a few days. I'm hard pressed to move now."

I smiled. "I know but she'll be ok and your other daughter is counting on you for a ride to school."

Andrew sighed but passed Stella off and moved to the bedroom to shower and change. A little while later, Andrew and Keely were off for the day with hugs, kisses and well wishes for a good first day back.

**#### **

It was a bit of an odd morning, the first in weeks that I was on my own with Stella. I found myself looking forward to the one-on-one time I would have with my little girl during the day and was especially enjoying the extra cuddles I was getting today since she still wasn't feeling 100%.

I was just getting ready to prep some lunch when I heard my phone ringing. Looking at the caller ID, I got a bad feeling when I saw Steve's name, one of Andrew's coworkers and a good friend.

"Steve." I answered.

"Emily." I could hear it in his voice immediately, something was wrong.

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. "What happened?"

"He got hit by a car trying to stop a suspect. He's on route to St. Luke's now, he was conscious when they left but he got roughed up real bad and medics were worried about internal bleeding."

"Oh god." I whispered; my voice thick with emotion as I tried to hold back tears. "Ok, ok I'm leaving now. I need… Keely she's…"

"I can call Lana. If you're ok with it, she can pick Keely up from school and meet you at the hospital." Steve offered.

"Thank you."

"Anytime. And Em," he paused. "He'll be ok. He has to."

_Damn right he_ does, I thought as I quickly grabbed the diaper bag and keys.

* * *

A/N: It may be a week or two before I can get the next chapter up but rest assured that Andrew will be ok. I've been feeling a little angsty lately with everything happening in the world right now and so it came through in my ideas for this storyline but I like happy endings so don't worry, I'm not going to jeopardize that.


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: Apologies for the long update time, now that life has slowed down for me a bit I should be able to update on a more frequent basis. Thank you to those who are still following, I love getting feedback from you all.

As always, I do not own CM or any of the content/characters.

* * *

"Where is he?" Those were the first words out of my mouth when I spotted Steve's face in the hallway of the ER. He was talking to a nurse at one of the check-in stations and turned when he heard my voice.

"You must be Mrs. Mendoza." The nurse spoke instead. "I'm one of the nurses in charge of your husband's care."

"Is he ok?"

"He's stable for now. I was just informing his partner here that Mr. Mendoza should be on his way back from a CT now. I'll bring you to his room and the doctor will be able to speak more with you both about the results and what the course of action will look like." The nurse makes her way around the desk but before I can follow, Steve stops me with a hand on my shoulder.

"Why don't I take Stella, just for a bit," he offers. I look to the little girl in my arms, babbling away as she chews on her fist and nod. "Hey, Stel. You want to come with Uncle Steve?" Stella looks up to him and smiles her three-tooth grin, leaning into his ready arms.

I pass over the diaper bag as well and mention something about puffs and a bottle before he waves me off, assuring me he's got it and to go see Andrew. I turn back around where the nurse is waiting patiently and follow her down the hall. Not a minute later we're rounding the corner into room 108 and I release a breath I didn't realize I was holding when I see Andrew there.

"Hey." He whispers out hoarsely as we step into the room.

"Andrew," I breathe. He looks smaller somehow, reclined in the hospital bed as a nurse places a large bandage along his left ribcage. There's an IV line attached to his left hand and several more lines attached to his chest. He looks exhausted, his eyes not exuding their usual brightness.

The nurse bandaging him finishes and addresses Andrew before making her way out of the room. "I've paged your attending, Doctor Cassidy. He'll be in momentarily to speak with you both. If you need anything before then, just use the call button." Andrew nods and I thank her before we're left alone in the room.

Finally, my feet make their way towards the bed and I sit beside him. "How are you feeling?" I ask softly as I gently raise my hand to cup his cheek, my thumb rubbing across his jaw.

"Like I got hit by a truck." He replies with a small smirk. It should irritate me that he would make light of such a thing so soon but the fact he feels well enough to do so eases my worries just a bit.

Before I can reply, a knock on the door alerts us both to the doctor's presence. He greets Andrew before turning to me, reaching out a hand. "You must be his wife?"

"Emily, yes." I confirm, shaking his hand.

"I'm Dr. Cassidy. I'll be your husband's attending doctor while he's here in the ER." He pulls out a stool from under a nearby table and sits facing Andrew. "Your CT showed that you have a grade II splenic rupture as well as a cracks to your 9th and 10th left ribs. Grade II is considered mild to moderate on the scale of ruptures and I have high hopes that non-surgical treatment will go well. That said, you will need a blood transfusion and will be admitted for a minimum of two days to monitor your spleen. The first 48 hours are the most critical but if you make it through without any complications, you'll be able to be released to complete the rest of your recovery at home."

"What does the recovery time look like?" Andrew asks when the doctor finishes speaking.

"The attending who will be taking over care during your stay, Dr. Leavenworth, will be better able to answer those questions but I'd say minimum 6-8 weeks." I look over to see Andrew's crestfallen face at those words. It killed him to be off work after his injury during the machete case we worked together in DC and this will be even longer. "We're going to do your blood transfusion here, which will take about two hours, and then once you're stable we'll bring you up to the second floor for admit."

Dr. Cassidy continued to talk for a few more minutes as nurses entered to begin the transfusion but my attention was drawn to the hallway where I saw Lana standing with Keely. I squeezed Andrew's hand one more time before excusing myself to go meet them.

"Mom!" Keely immediately walked into my embrace once I slid Andrew's door closed. I wrapped my arms around her tightly and held her for a long minute, whispering reassurances about Andrew into her ear as I ran a hand over her hair. "What happened? Is he ok?" She asked a minute later when her breathing had calmed and she pulled away.

"He was hit by a suspect in a truck trying to flee. He has a ruptured spleen and some cracked ribs and he'll be in the hospital for a couple days but… he's ok. They're starting a blood transfusion now, why don't you go in and see him. Just be gentle." Keely nodded vigorously, turning to enter the room, and I could see Andrew's face light up upon seeing his eldest daughter.

"How are _you_?" Lana's question pulled my attention back to her, almost having forgotten she was still standing in the hall.

"I'm ok." I smiled weakly. Lana raised her eyebrow, a clear sign she didn't buy my answer. "I was terrified." I amended. "It's the job, I should know the risks better than anyone but god, when Steve called me… the whole drive here all I could think of was having to raise our girls alone." I took a deep breath, nearly overcome with emotion yet again. "Thank you for picking up Keely, by the way. I know you probably had to leave work to do so; I really appreciate it."

Lana nodded. "Anytime, though hopefully never under these circumstances again. I was thinking, I know Andrew will want to see Stella but why don't Steve and I take her for the night?"

"Oh, I…" I paused, looking back at Andrew. Before I had a chance to continue, Lana spoke up again.

"I've been in your shoes Em, more times than I care to count. I know you'll want to stay with him tonight. Stella really isn't a burden and I can use the pack n play I have for my niece or I can stay with Stella at your place if that would make you more comfortable. Keely is welcome too, but I have a feeling that may be a bit of a fight."

"Ok. Let me go get her from Steve so that Andrew can see her and I'll give you the spare key." Lana nodded and pulled me into a hug. _Thank you_, I whispered into her ear as I returned the embrace before we turned towards the waiting room.

"Hey Stella, look who's here." Steve pointed in my direction when he saw Lana and I walk in. Stella grinned and dropped from where she was holding herself up against a table to crawl towards me.

"Hi, baby." I smiled, picking her up and kissing her cheek. "You want to go see, Daddy?" Stella's response was a singular grunt and a hand pointed in the direction I had come from. "I'll take that as a yes. I'll be back in a few." I told Steve and Lana before making my way back to Andrew's room.

Keely was sitting in a chair beside the bed when I entered the room, her head laying on the mattress as Andrew stroked her hair, tear tracks evident on her cheeks. When Stella spotted her daddy, she started leaning out of my grasp towards him. Keely sat up and pulled over the other chair beside her, even closer to the head of the bed. I smiled and ran my hand across her shoulders as I moved to sit beside her, Stella in my lap.

"All my girls." Andrew sighed contentedly as he reached out to let Stella grab his fingers.


	28. Chapter 28

Andrew was in the hospital for three days before being released home for the remainder of his recovery. He was put on leave for six weeks, at which point he would have a follow up appointment to determine whether he could return to work yet or not. While it was nice to have him home with Stella and I during the day, it was also painfully frustrating. Andrew was terrible at following directions, especially those that limited his physical movements, and the first few weeks of his recovery were spent largely with me scolding him for doing too much, particularly with the girls. I would come home from a run or doing errands to see Andrew carrying Stella on his back or tossing her in the air, all of which were great and sweet but not motions which he should yet be doing with our 18lb daughter.

Finally, the first week of October, Andrew was given the all clear to return to full duty the following week. He was walking on air when he returned from his appointment.

"I take it the appointment went well?" I smiled, seeing the obvious elation in his eyes as he walked into the bedroom.

"I'm all clear, baby. I'll be back to work on Monday; no more restrictions." He replied, kissing my cheek as he wrapped his arms around my middle. He started to trail kisses down my neck, pulling me tighter against him and I couldn't help but chuckle as I continued folding the laundry.

"As much as I would love to let you continue, your daughter is going to wake up from her nap any minute and your other daughter is due home from school in a half hour."

"It's been six weeks; we can be quick." He noted, his fingers raising the hem of my shirt and skimming over my skin.

"Exactly, it's been six weeks; I don't _want_ to be quick." I countered. That seemed to do the trick as he sighed and loosened his grip. I turned around to face him, seeing the disappointment in his face. "Hey, look on the bright side. Tomorrow, Keely leaves for fall break with the Scotts and we'll have a long weekend with plenty of time to ourselves. Maybe I'll even see if Derek and Savannah can take Stella one night and we can return the favor next weekend. I'm sure they'd like some couple time before the new baby comes anyway."

He nodded and pecked my lips just as Stella started babbling over the monitor. Smirking, I pulled away. "Told you." Andrew rolled his eyes but smiled as he went to retrieve our baby girl from her crib.

**#### **

Saturday morning, we dropped Stella off at Derek and Savannah's. We agreed to pick her up Sunday morning and in return, I offered for us to take Hank for the entirety of the following weekend, a proposition Savannah was more than happy to agree to. While Andrew and I were eager for our evening together, we had a busy day planned.

Since Keely had been such a great help with Stella and around the house while Andrew was recovering, we had decided to thank her by redecorating, or should I say decorating, her room while she was away on fall break. Since Andrew bought the house, with the exception of Stella's room, none of the taupe walls had ever been painted. While this was fine for most of the house, Keely had started dropping comments about painting her room for her birthday in January.

Our first stop after dropping Stella off was Lowes to buy paint. Keely had talked about wanting a pale blue accent wall, so we found a shade of "Maya Blue" we thought she would like and purchased a gallon, as well as two gallons of white. While Keely had talked about simply leaving the other walls taupe, we thought white would look better and in worse case scenario, there was plenty of taupe paint leftover in the garage from when Andrew bought the place that we could paint it back.

Our final stop was to Bed, Bath and Beyond, Andrew reluctantly driving over there. "I don't understand why you hate this place so much." I laughed as he groaned, pulling the car into a surprisingly close parking space for a Saturday.

"You should know better than anyone home décor is just not my thing, babe. I stalled for weeks just to pick a couch when I finally moved. In fact, you and my sister were the ones who convinced me to give Keely free reign of the credit card to furnish the house."

"Mm, I remember." I chuckled. "Well, all we need is a new sheet and comforter set. Keely's lavender bed set isn't going to match with the new paint colors and I want her room to be perfect when she gets back."

It didn't take long to spot a white and navy floral comforter we both agreed Keely would love, tossing it into the cart with some matching sheets and a few navy throw blankets and pillows. We were headed home no more than 15 minutes later, a fact which Andrew was more than grateful for.

After a quick lunch of leftover takeout, we tackled the task of Keely's room. It took longer than expected for two people but that was largely thanks to Andrew's playful nature and desire to start a paint war anytime he moved passed me. All in all, however, by early evening the room was complete and we were both quite proud of our handiwork.

"I can't wait to see her reaction on Monday. I really think she's going to like it." Andrew smiled, stepping back to look at the final product as I finished arranging the throw pillows on Keely's bed. Turning around to face him I couldn't help but admire the sight of his bare chest. He'd taken off his tee shirt after our second paint fight, leaving his sculpted abs exposed, droplets of white paint standing out against his mocha colored skin.

"See something you like?" The sound of his voice brought me back to the present, looking up to meet his eyes.

"Indeed, I do." I grinned. Taking the final steps to stand in front of him, I wrapped my arms around his neck and dropped a kiss to his lips, working towards his ear. "I think," a peck to his jaw, "that we should," another to his cheek, "go rinse off this paint in the bath," I finished with a soft bite to his ear lobe, making him moan.

"Lead the way."

**#### **

"This was a good idea." Andrew noted as we sank into the hot water. I could feel his breath against my neck as he moved my hair to the side and rested his chin on my shoulder.

"Mmm," I hummed. "I missed this."

We were quiet for a few minutes, simply enjoying the closeness before I felt Andrew's hands start to wander. His fingertips traced up my sides, underneath the swells of my breasts and finally up, capturing and twisting my nipples. "Please," I moaned, arching into his touch.

"A little eager?" He asked, the smirk evident in his tone.

"I want you," I whimpered, already breathless. Six long weeks of waiting had made me impatient.

"Soon enough love, but first…" His left hand left its place on my breast to venture south, teasing over my thigh before slipping into my folds. I open my legs further, gasping as his fingers circled my clit. It took an embarrassingly short time to reach my peak and by the time I'd caught my breath the water had turned tepid.

I reached one hand behind me, wrapping my fingers around his shaft below the water, letting my thumb tease his tip. "Mmm, baby. It's been too long; I'm not going to last long enough for the main event if you do that."

"Then I say we get out of this tub."

**####**

It didn't take long for Andrew's orgasm to seize him when we finally joined together, but he made up for it several times that night and the following morning before we went to pick up Stella.

The rest of Sunday was spent soaking up time solely with our little girl, Andrew wanting to make the most of his last day off before returning to work. Though he was excited to go back, I could tell that he was going to miss being home with Stella. She'd grown so much over the past few weeks and he'd gotten to witness it all to a much greater extent during his time off.

On Monday, Andrew got home from his first day back at work just in time for Keely to return from her fall break trip. Knowing I wouldn't be able to stop her from going to her bedroom, Andrew was afraid he was going to miss her initial reaction, which was priceless. Keely walked upstairs to unpack her suitcase entirely unknowing, Andrew and I sitting on the couch nonchalantly. Seconds later we heard a squeal and her footsteps moving quickly back down the stairs. When she rounded the corner to the living room, Andrew and I laughed at the sight of her, jaw dropped, eyes wide and totally speechless.

"So, how'd we do?" Andrew asked.

"Ahh, I love it! I can't believe… I… you… thank you!" Keely rushed over, enveloping Andrew and I both in a tight hug.

**#### **

The next few days were a huge adjustment. Since Andrew had been injured on the first day of Keely's sophomore year, it had been over four months since I had been home on my own with Stella, Keely having been home over the summer and Andrew the past six weeks.

It took some time, but eventually we fell into a comfortable routine. Andrew went back to taking Keely to school in the morning, Stella and I picking her up on days she didn't have volleyball practice and Andrew on the days she did and was at school later. I went back to joining Derek a couple times a week for activities with the kids. Weekends were filled with volleyball games and a few off-season tennis tournaments, Andrew and I cheering Keely on from the sidelines at each one with Stella babbling and clapping along. It was perfect and never in my wildest dreams something I imagined for myself.


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: I'm sorry it has been so long since I last updated. It's a combination of lack of time and inspiration for this story but I will do my best to keep the updates coming.

As always, I do not own any of the content or characters of CM.

* * *

"Oh my goodness, look at that beautiful baby." Those are Penelope's first words as she exits the terminal at Denver International Airport.

"Say hello to Aunt Penelope." I say, raising Stella's little hand and waving it for her as Penelope approaches. Within seconds, Stella and I are wrapped in a tight hug.

"Will you come see me, sweet girl?" Penelope asks Stella as we part. Stella coos, leaning out of my grasp without hesitation and into Penelope's open arms. "Oh my darling, you've gotten so big."

"It's good to have you here. Come on, baggage claim is this way." I say, leading towards the escalators. When we find the correct carousel, Penelope points out two multicolored suitcases as they appear from behind the flaps. The suitcases are surprisingly tame in color for Garcia, a simple orange fading into purple and then blue, but the size of them… they are huge! Seeing as Penelope is holding Stella, I move to retrieve the suitcases from the belt. "Geez, what on earth did you pack?" I ask, chuckling. Surely the suitcases were over the 50lb limit.

"It's Christmas!" Penelope exclaims. "Stella needs gifts, as do Keely and Hank and little baby Morgan. How is Jace by the way? Have you met him yet? Derek needs to send more pictures. Does he send you pictures? He…"

All I can do is smile as Penelope rambles on and even Stella looks at the woman holding her with big eyes. Jace Everett Morgan had been born three weeks earlier, right on time and perfectly healthy. Derek and Savannah's families had visited the week he was born but Penelope decided to visit over Christmas. She would stay with Andrew and I, though surely we would spend plenty of time at the Morgan house this upcoming week visiting with the new baby.

"Alright, this is us." I inform as I hit the unlock button and pop the trunk on my Toyota Highlander.

"And here I thought you'd be a minivan mom by now." Garcia smirked as she looked at the vehicle.

"This is mom car enough, believe me." I replied, unable to help the smile on my face. As soon as her bags were loaded in the trunk, we were on our way back to the house, Penelope opting to sit next to Stella for the drive.

**#### **

"Aww, look at those sweet little cheeks and those fingers, oh and his toes, oh my gosh he's just so tiny!" Penelope squeaked, continuing to comment on every little part of Jace as she held him in for the first time.

Savannah and I smiled at each other as we watch from across the room. "How are you feeling?" I asked.

"Honestly, pretty good. Recovery has been a breeze this time compared to the c-section I had with Hank. And Jace is such an easy-going little guy, the total opposite of how Hank was as a baby."

As if he heard his name, Hank trudged down the stairs, his eyes still sleepy from nap. "Hey my big boy. Did you have a good nap?" Savannah asked as he crawled into her lap. Hank nodded against her chest and then, finally seeming to recognize I was sitting next to them on the couch, sat up and said, "Auntie Em."

"Hi sweetheart." I smiled.

"Stella here?" He asked.

"No, Stella and Keely are both at home with Uncle Andrew. You'll get to see them later tonight, at dinner."

His eyes lit up and he beamed, looking to his mother. "For Christmas?"

"For Christmas Eve," Savannah corrected. "We still have one more sleep until Christmas, remember." She said pointing to their advent calendar across the room.

"Oh, ok." He said, leaning back against Savannah's chest. He was silent for another moment before his eyes widened in horror and he asked. "Is Jace going to get any presents? He didn't get to write a letter to Santa."

Savannah and I looked to each other and then Penelope and smirked. "Don't worry buddy, I'm sure he'll still get plenty of presents."

**#### **

That evening, after we all had feasted on far too much delicious food, Penelope handed out her gifts for the kids. Hank was thrilled, eagerly ripping open box after box of new toys and clothes. Stella was, quite frankly, more impressed with the bows and ribbons than her gifts but had fun nonetheless. Savannah simply gawked as she opened easily a dozen new outfits for Jace, Derek reminding her that was a typical gesture for Penelope Garcia. And Keely, who was surprised to be included in the gift giving, tackled Penelope in a hug after opening a set of new camera lenses that would suit her perfectly for her new hobby and unofficial role as a sports photographer for the school.

Derek and Savannah left with the kids soon after, needing to get them (mostly Hank) home to ensure they fell asleep in time for Santa to come. I looked forward to the years where Andrew and I would get to entertain the idea of Santa with Stella but for now she was too young and Keely had outgrown the notion years ago, though she played along well for the younger kids.

Christmas morning was cozy and relaxing. Much to Penelope's dismay, Keely slept in until she was finally awoken for brunch at 10am. We indulged in monkey bread and eggnog before tackling stockings and exchanging presents, Andrew laughing as Penelope's excitement far outweighed the rest of us combined.

That night, after everyone else was in bed, Penelope and I sat together on the couch sipping mulled wine. "It's good to have you here." I commented, situating a blanket on my lap.

"It's fun and a good distraction." She smiled.

"Distraction?"

Penelope sighed. "Luke's parents invited us both up for the holidays."

"Oh, you didn't want to go?" I ask, trying to remain impartial. It was always clear that there was an attraction between Garcia and Alvez, but I had to admit they didn't seem to fit as a couple.

"I just, don't think we're there yet." She smiled sadly. "Luke never said anything directly but I could tell he was nervous about me meeting his parents, like I needed to tone myself down beforehand. He's a good guy and I know he likes me but he doesn't appreciate my antics the same way Kevin did, or even Derek, not that we dated. Maybe I do need to tone things down a little, I mean, I'm almost 40."

"Hey, look at me." I said, reaching for her free hand and waiting until she met my eyes to continue. "You, Penelope Garcia, are a bright light in this world. Yes, you're flamboyant and maybe a little unorthodox but you have the biggest heart of anyone I've ever known and I would never _ever _want you to change who you are, not even a little."

"Thank you." She smiled, leaning in for a hug. Pulling apart, she shook her head and wiped a few stray tears from her cheeks. "Ok, no more of that. It's Christmas and have I three more days to soak up my time with you and Derek and your beautiful families. So tell me, how are you and Andrew going to celebrate your one year anniversary?" She asked, eyebrows waggling in anticipation. I laughed, happy to indulge Garcia in talks about the weekend getaway I'd been planning if it brightened her mood.

**#### **

All too soon I was driving Penelope back to the airport but it was with a renewed promise to visit DC soon and plenty to look forward to in Denver in the meantime.


	30. Chapter 30

A/N: As requested, the anniversary weekend getaway. As always, I do not own any of the contents or characters of CM.

* * *

In the end, I caved and gave away the surprise of our weekend getaway sooner than planned. On the day of our anniversary, Andrew and I went out for an early dinner in downtown Denver. The atmosphere was intimate, the food was delectable, and we flirted like lovesick teenagers throughout the whole meals, which looking back probably wasn't the best idea ever. We engaged in a heated make-out session in the car afterwards, which had Andrew trailing kisses down my neck and murmuring all the delicious things he wanted to do when we got home.

"We can't," I reminded breathlessly. "As soon as we get home, Keely gives the all clear and our house will be packed with 11 more teenagers ready to ring in the new year." When Andrew sighed and pulled back with an adorable pout on his face, I caved. "Two weeks," I said. "I was going to surprise you later but in two weeks you and I are going away for a long weekend. Just us, no kids. We'll have a whole place to ourselves and you can do all the sinfully delicious things you mentioned and we won't even have to be quiet."

He smiled, eyes lighting up. "Really?"

"Really," I nodded.

"God, you're amazing." He said, leaning in for one more kiss.

"I know," I replied as we pulled apart. "Now, let's go home."

Andrew tried to inquire more about our upcoming weekend on the drive but I refused to spoil any more details. "Wait," he said after a period of comfortable silence. "Is this why you agreed to let Keely have the whole motley crew over tonight?"

"Now you're catching on," I chuckled.

**#### **

Two weeks later, after leaving Stella with a Savannah Morgan certified college sitter and dropping Keely off at school, we were off on our three-day trip. "Emily, this place looks gorgeous," Andrew remarked as we walked into the house I'd rented on Lake Estes.

"I thought you'd like it. Come on, let me show you around." I said, taking his hand.

It was a beautiful, modern log home right on the lake. The downstairs had an open kitchen, living and dining area with a fireplace and two-story windows that looked out on the water. There was also a full bathroom with a stacked washer dryer and a bedroom with a full-size trundle bed. The upstairs loft had a comfortable sitting area and master bedroom with a king size bed and second full bath.

"And last but certainly not least," I said, leading him out to the covered patio.

"A hot tub and a second outdoor fireplace? Oh babe, we're never leaving." Andrew smiled, wrapping his arms around me.

"That was the plan, at least for the weekend. The fridge is stocked, there's plenty of firewood, we have everything we need." I replied, leaning in for a kiss. Our mouths opened as the kiss deepened, tongues tangling until an involuntary shiver ran through my body. Andrew pulled away then, laughing slightly.

"How about we go warm up inside, huh? Unless we're getting in that jacuzzi it's a little chilly." He said.

**#### **

The first two days passed quickly in a rotation largely combined of sex, relaxing in the hot tub, and eating. On our last night, we sat cuddled on the couch downstairs in front of the fireplace, soaking up the warmth as we stared out at the ice-covered lake. "We should come back here in the summer; Keely would love it. We could rent some kayaks, go hiking." Andrew said as he traced his fingers up and down my arm.

"That'd be nice." I affirmed, debating whether now was the right time to bring up my proposal. In a way the answer was decided for me, as Andrew noticed my pondering mood and asked what was wrong. "What if we bought one?" I asked, unsure of how he would react.

"Bought what? A lake house?"

I turned in his arms, sitting back and facing him. "Mhmm," I nodded.

"Um, I, I don't know." He stammered. "What brought that up?"

"I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it now." I apologized, regretting my decision to bring it up.

"No, Em, hey. I'm not opposed to the idea just, let me in on your thought process."

"This weekend has just made me think about visiting my grandparents in the French alps. Those are some of the fondest memories I have from my childhood and I know Keely is getting older but I want that for the girls. A place we can go to regularly as a family and make memories of our own at."

After a moment Andrew said, "Ok, let's look into it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," He nodded and smiled. "I love you."

"I love you, too." I replied, wrapping my arms around his neck and leaning in for a kiss. He responded eagerly, one hand moving down to my hip as the other tangled in my hair, pulling me closer.

One thing led to another, our kisses hot and passionate. I trailed a hand down to his pants, rubbing him over his jeans before working on his zipper, stopping only to raise my arms when I felt him pulling at the hem of my sweater. The rest of our clothing didn't last long, both of us aching to touch, stroke and kiss every inch of the other. I moan loud and unabashed when Andrew's fingers slide between my thighs, toying with me before sinking two inside. Reaching my peak a moment later, my back arched involuntarily and I gasped when Andrew seized the opportunity to suck at a nipple.

Collapsing against Andrew, I felt him grip my thighs before scooping and carrying me upstairs. Having fully regained my composure by the time he deposited me on the bed, I quickly pulled him down and flipped us over, trailing kissed down his chest and abdomen before settling between his legs. Taking him in hand, I stroked slowly, teasingly, reveling in his groans and the raspy _please, Em_ he let out before finally taking him in my mouth.

After several minutes, he pulled me away, urging me onto my back. Complying eagerly, I wrapped my legs around his waist as he settled on top. Reaching a hand between us, he gave a few testing thrusts with his fingers before finally sinking home, both of us moaning at the sensation. He started slow, gaining speed as I begged for _more, harder._ Reaching a hand around his neck I pulled him in for a searing kiss, breaking on a gasp when he slipped a hand down to circle my clit. Seconds later I buried my face in his neck as I came, my walls contracting around him and bringing him along. We stayed like that for a long moment before he pulled out, collapsing on the bed alongside me.

"Best. Weekend. Ever," he uttered. Turning my head to face him, we both smiled and laughed, still breathless from our activities, before leaning in for another brief kiss.


	31. Chapter 31

President's Day weekend found Keely and I flying to DC for a quick trip. I had been surprised by a request to speak at an inter-agency conference on communication and leadership but accepted nonetheless, using it as the perfect excuse to visit our people on the east coast. Andrew was the one who recommended we make it a girl's trip, barring Stella who he wanted to stay home with. At the time, it seemed perfectly reasonable, but standing here now, the thought of leaving my little girl wasn't as appealing.

"Are you sure you're going to be ok with her?" I asked Andrew as we stood outside the departures zone at Denver airport.

"Tell mommy we're going to be fine, Stel." Andrew said playfully as he bounced Stella in his arms. When he looked back to see me smiling sadly, his face softened. "Babe, we've gone over it a hundred times. It's just three days. You get some one-on-one time with Keely and I get some with Stella. We'll FaceTime every day and you'll be back before you know it."

"I know," I sighed. "This is just the first time I've left her like this before."

"Mom, we got to go." Keely said rounding the corner of our vehicle with her carry-on.

Nodding, I took a deep breath. "Ok, bye baby girl. Mommy loves you." I said, leaning in to kiss her cheek.

"Mama bye bye." Stella grinned, clenching and unclenching her fist in a wave. I smiled, pecking Andrew on the lips before grabbing hold of my carry-on.

"Bye dad!" Keely said, giving Andrew a quick side hug before the two of us made our way inside toward security.

Between the two-hour time difference and the fact that we hadn't left until after Keely got out of school, it was nearly midnight when we pulled up to Megan's townhouse in Baltimore. When we'd told Andrew's sister about the upcoming trip a few weeks ago, it was made clear that staying at a hotel was out of the question. Megan was waiting at the door as we pulled our luggage from the rental car and made our way up the steps. After a warm but brief welcome, we were all off to bed.

**#### **

Saturday morning came far too early for my liking, the phone alarm I'd set notifying me it was time to get up and ready for the conference. Trying my best to be quiet given the early hour, I snuck into the guest bathroom and took a quick shower. Getting dressed, it felt weird to be donning a business suit after two plus years of wearing mostly casual clothes. Creeping down the stairs, I wasn't expecting anyone to be awake and I nearly had a heart attack when I turned the corner into Megan's kitchen to see her leaning against the counter sipping a mug of coffee.

"Good morning!" She greeted.

Startled, one hand immediately flew to my chest. "Oh jeez, you scared me." She laughed as I took a deep breath, smiling and shaking my head. "Good morning. What are you doing up so early?"

"Habit, unfortunately. There's a fresh pot of coffee and the travel mugs are in the cabinet to the left of the microwave. Figured you'd want to take some with you this morning."

"You're an angel." I said, pouring a cup to go and opening the fridge for some cream. "How is work going?"

"Good." Megan answered quickly, but I noticed the smile she tried to hide and the higher tone of her voice.

"Mmhmm… so, what's his name?"

She shook her head and muttered the word _profiler _under her breath but admitted, "Gabriel."

"Well, I look forward to hearing more about this Gabriel later but I need to get going. Let me know where you want me to meet you and Keely when I get out of the conference this afternoon."

"Sounds good. I think we're going to go for brunch and then walk around Fell's Point but I'll check in later. Have fun!"

**#### **

Being in a professional setting again felt better than I could've imagined. I had the opportunity to speak with agents I hadn't seen in years, both from Interpol and the bureau. Yes, I'd come to love being a stay at home mom, relishing in the chance I never thought I'd get, but presenting at the conference that morning was a welcome change from motherhood and a chance to bring back out a side of myself that had been lying dormant. It was also flattering to hear through conversation with others that my reputation hadn't diminished despite having left the bureau two and a half years ago, though I suppose I wouldn't have been invited to speak otherwise.

When things finally started winding down and everyone scattered for lunch, I reached for my phone to call Megan when I heard a familiar squeal from across the hall. Looking up, I smiled at an exuberant Penelope Garcia running towards me in a blue and pink floral dress with hot pink pumps.

"Emily!" She exclaimed as we met, our arms immediately wrapping around each other.

"I didn't think I'd see you until tomorrow," I replied as we pulled apart.

"JJ and I are attending a session in the next room, Tara and Matt are in one upstairs. I'd just snuck out to go to the bathroom when I saw you. I've got to text JJ."

A moment later, JJ was ducking out of the room across the hall and ran over to where Penelope and I had moved to a spot by the windows. "It's so good to see you!" She voiced as she pulled me into a tight embrace.

"You, too! I've missed you both." I smiled as I looked back and forth between my two favorite blondes. "Are we still on for lunch tomorrow?"

"Yes, I made reservations for us at Pembroke."

My mouth immediately started watering at the mention of one of my favorite DC restaurants. "Oh, I miss that place. Their food is amazing."

"Precisely why I booked it," Penelope smiled proudly. "Now, I suppose we should get back to the stupid session. I don't know why I'm required to attend these things, I sit in my own little bubble all day and work my magic, I'm not out in the…"

"Penelope," JJ interrupted her rant.

"Right, sorry. Ok, we'll let you go. It's so good to see you again, Em." With one more hug from both of them we parted ways, each looking forward to lunch tomorrow.

**#### **

"So, how many extra suitcases are we going to need to buy for the flight home?" I joked, walking up behind Megan and Keely at a chic little clothing boutique in Fells Point.

"Hey mom!" Keely turned, greeting me with a smile. "No extra suitcases, I promise. I haven't gotten anything I can't squeeze in the current but…" Her grin turned mischievous.

"But…" I waited, knowing I'd probably have a hard time saying no to whatever came next. It was a special girls' weekend after all.

"What do you think about going prom dress shopping here, with Aunt Megan?"

Even though Keely and Ethan were only sophomores, Ethan was on student council and all members typically attended prom regardless of grade. Despite the fact that the dance was still a couple months away, it was a pretty sure bet Keely would be going as his date.

"I think it sounds like a great idea." I smiled.

That's how Megan and I found ourselves sitting on a cushioned bench outside the dressing room of a cute little dress shop. Keely had already tried on a dozen dresses, all which had been turned down for one reason or another. She only had one dress left in the changing room.

"So, what do you think?" She asked in a defeated tone as she stepped out, turning in a circle for us to get the full view.

"Keely, it's stunning." Megan replied immediately.

"I agree. It's perfect." I smiled. The dress was a black, floral print design with a sweetheart neckline and a ruffled, flowy skirt. It looked absolutely amazing on Keely and was gorgeous and tasteful without being too revealing. Megan and I had both had to shut a few dresses down knowing Andrew would never let his daughter walk out of the house in them.

"Yeah?" Keely asked, inspecting herself more closely in the mirror.

Megan and I both nodded. Standing, I moved behind Keely and placed my hands on her shoulders, meeting her eyes in the mirror. "Plus, I think Ethan will love it," I whispered. Keely grinned, nodding in agreement.

"So," Megan started. "What do you say we get this dress paid for and shipped and then head out for an early dinner? I may or may not have been able to coerce a certain someone to join us."

"Would this someone be named Gabriel?" I inquired.

"Maybe…" Megan smirked.

"Really! We get to meet him?" Keely asked excitedly.

"Well, I'd kind of like to bring him with me next time I come to visit but you know Andrew, he'll get all protective. So, I figured it might be good for you two to have met him so you can help balance Andrew out."

"Wise woman," I smiled. "We'd love to meet him."

**#### **

"Hey sweetheart." A man, who I could only hope to be Gabriel, said as he came up behind Megan, dropping a kiss to her head.

"Hey you," Megan smiled, turning. "Gabriel, this is my sister-in-law, Emily, and my niece, Keely."

"It's nice to meet you," I said, shaking his offered hand in greeting.

"Hi," Keely waved from her seat across the table.

"We already ordered. I got the usual for you." Megan informed Gabriel just in time for the waiter to deliver our food.

The four of us had a pleasant meal. Gabriel was funny and it was clear to tell he genuinely cared about Megan. I had no doubt that they'd be together for the long run. Keely and Megan were laughing about something as we exited the restaurant an hour later, leaving Gabriel and I standing off to the side.

"I like you, you're good for her." I said to Gabriel. "But if you hurt her, just remember that Andrew and I carry guns for a living." I reminded jokingly, with a slight smirk.

He nodded, smiling as he looked over to where Megan and Keely were talking. "I promise, I have no intentions to do so. I love her."

"Good."

As Megan and Keely finished up their conversation, Gabriel bid the three of us farewell and gave Megan a sweet but short kiss. Keely and I awed from the sidelines and they pulled apart, smiling as they both shook their heads at us.

"So, what did you guys think of him?" Megan asked as we made our way down the sidewalk.

"He seems like a good one." I replied.

"I think you got yourself a looker," Keely quipped. Megan laughed, pushing against Keely's shoulder playfully and commenting on the age difference plus the fact that Keely had a looker of her own.

**#### **

"Three margaritas for the ladies." The waiter at the Pembroke announced as he brought our drinks over.

"How are Andrew and the girls?" Penelope asked after she took a sip of her drink.

"They're all good. Stella's growing fast, she's…" Before I have a chance to continue, JJ's phone rings. She looks at the screen and sighs.

"Agent Jareau," she answers. "Yes, sir… ok."

"Got a case?" I ask knowingly.

"I'm sorry." JJ says.

"No," Penelope frowns. "But we just got here."

"It's ok. I know the job, remember? I'm just glad I at least got to see you guys in person."

We grabbed the check, the waiter giving us an odd look for leaving so soon, and parted ways with tight hugs and sad smiles.

**#### **

The remainder of the weekend flew by quickly, Keely and I soaking up the girl time with Megan. We spent the evenings watching chick flicks and talking about school and boys, Megan and I chatting even later into the night over glasses of wine.

As lovely as the weekend was, by the time we landed back in Denver Monday evening, I was very much ready to see my baby girl. Andrew had texted regularly, sending photos and videos of his time with Stella, and he'd video called every evening at bedtime but it was nothing like cuddling her in person.

Monday night, I sat in Stella's room rocking her long after she fell asleep. "You ever coming to bed?" Andrew's voice whispered from the doorway. I smiled up at him as he made his way into the room, sitting on the ottoman in front of us, placing one hand on my knee and the other gently atop Stella's head. "She missed you."

"I missed _her._" I said, pressing my lips to Stella's forehead.

"I missed you, too, you know." Andrew voiced.

I smiled, standing carefully and placing Stella in her crib before turning to reach a hand to Andrew. He grinned, taking my hand and following downstairs. As soon as the bedroom door closed behind us, I pulled him toward the bed, each of us stripping our clothes in the process. Our lips met immediately as we landed on the mattress, mouths opening and tongues exploring. I gasped as he reached down between us, finding my clit and rubbing quick tight circles. A whimper escaped my throat when he dropped two fingers down to fill me, pumping fast and deep. Burying my head in his neck, I sucked eagerly at his pulse point.

Slipping a hand of my own between our bodies, I grasped his firm erection, twisting and pulling until he was moaning and uttered _too close._ Smiling, I lifted one leg over his hip, letting him pull me even closer against him until I could feel him hard and ready against my core. He slid inside in one swift thrust, each of us moaning at the feel of being together. The pace is slow, at first, Andrew squeezing a breast with his free hand as I palm the back of his head, pulling his face closer until our lips fused in a heated kiss.

Dropping my jaw open on a particularly hard thrust, Andrew quickened his movements, his hand sliding between my legs to rub my clit. It doesn't take but another half dozen thrusts before I'm falling over the edge, wave after wave of pleasure flowing through my body. Coming to, I reached behind him, squeezing his backside. Nipping his earlobe, I whispered for him to let go and was rewarded with a groan and the feel of him spilling his release inside seconds later.

Both breathing heavily, we curled up against each other, pulling the sheet atop our bodies. "I love you," I muttered against his chest before letting sleep drag me under.


	32. Chapter 32

A/N: I apologize for the long wait for an update. My creative mind has been bogged down by school and I'm finding it harder to come up with chapter ideas, but I'm determined to see this story through. If you have any ideas of things you'd like to see, feel free to leave it in a review or PM me. In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy the unadulterated family fluff this chapter has to offer.

As always, I do not own any of the content or characters of CM.

* * *

"Keely! Ethan's here!" Andrew called from downstairs. Keely smiled as I straightened the last strand of her hair. She looked stunning, make-up already done and dress on.

"Alright, pretty lady. You're all set." I said, placing my hands on her shoulders as I met her eyes in the mirror.

Keely ran her hands over her hair before standing from her stool and enveloping me in a hug. "It's perfect! Thanks, mom!"

In the time since Keely had started calling me mom, I'd largely gotten used to the term, but every now and then it felt like the first time all over again, creating butterflies in my stomach. This was one of those times and I choked up as we parted. "Always. Now come on, let's get downstairs before your dad starts interrogating Ethan."

Keely frowned slightly. "But dad likes Ethan."

"True, but now Ethan is taking his baby girl to her first dance."

Keely's eyes widened and she hurriedly grabbed her shoes and purse, making me laugh at her sudden rush. "Slow down," I chuckled. "I'll go downstairs and make sure your dad is behaving. Put on your jewelry and your finishing touches and we'll see you downstairs in a moment."

Keely nodded and I went downstairs, finding Andrew and Ethan in the entryway along with his parents, Steve and Lana. "Ethan, you look very handsome," I greeted. He was wearing a black suit with a maroon tie to match the colors of the flowers on Keely's dress.

"Thank you, Mrs. M," Ethan smiled.

As I turned to greet Steve and Lana, Stella decided to make her presence known, toddling into the entryway with her signature growl. Ethan laughed and crouched down. "Well hello, little miss Stella." Stella growled again and held up her arms to Ethan. He picked her up and bounced her in his arms. "Are you a tiger?"

"That's new," Lana chuckled as Stella growled again.

"That's been her latest trick for about a week now," I informed. Lana and I smiled as we watched Ethan and Stella interact. He was good with little kids.

When we heard movement from the stairs a minute later, I took Stella from Ethan and watched the smile on his face grow as Keely rounded the corner to the entryway.

"You look beautiful," he whispered, kissing her cheek.

"Thank you," Keely blushed, returning the gesture and pulling him in for a hug.

"Alright, you two. Do you want to do photos in front of the fireplace or outside?" Andrew asked.

"Backyard? By the pine trees?" Keely suggested, looking to Ethan for confirmation.

"That's fine with me," he nodded. Taking her hand, the two led the way outside. Steve and Lana followed, with Andrew and I pulling up the rear after grabbing the camera.

The kids were a good sport about photos, never grumbling as we asked them to pose. Stella ran around in the backyard until Keely scooped her up for a sibling picture, playfully kicking Ethan out of the way before soothing over his feigned hurt with a peck on the lips. Lana pushed me into the next photo and I slid in beside my girls, wrapping one arm around Keely as we smiled at Andrew. I could see the emotion in his eyes as he took the photo and mouthed the words _I love you _to him after I heard the camera shutter.

We shuffled around for a few more photo match ups, making sure Andrew and Keely got a photo together and Steve and Lana got photos with Ethan. Finally, Keely looked at Andrew and said, "Ok, dad. We really got to go now. Ethan has to be there early to meet with the student council and we want to get dinner first."

Andrew nodded and we headed back inside, Ethan and Keely once again leading the way. The couple laughed and whispered quietly to each other, Keely looping her arm with Ethan's and leaning her head on his shoulder. "Maybe I'll see if they need another chaperone. Surely the administration wouldn't say no to having an FBI agent there," Andrew mumbled as we walked up the stairs to the porch.

I bumped his shoulder admonishingly, reminding him that they were good kids and to leave them alone. Andrew frowned slightly as we walked in the back slider, looking to Stella who was chewing on her fist in my arms. "You're never going to grow up, right Stell?" A small smile graced his face when she took her hand from her mouth and smiled at her father. Andrew took her from my arms and Stella snuggled into his chest. "My little star," Andrew sighed as he tilted his head, resting his cheek atop Stella's head.

Keely grabbed her purse and phone as Ethan talked to Steve. "Andrew already told me that Keely's curfew is 11:30pm so I expect you home by midnight. And I trust you but I don't trust everyone else at that dance, so be careful driving home." Steve said as he handed over the keys and some cash to Ethan.

"Have fun, sweetheart," Lana said, kissing Ethan's cheek before she turned and enveloped Keely in a hug. "You look beautiful. Keep him in check tonight, huh?" Lana joked, nodding her head towards her son.

"Oh, I will," Keely laughed, shooting Ethan a smile. She turned towards Andrew and I then, giving me a hug first.

"Be safe and smart, but most importantly, have fun. I love you, sweet girl." I said, kissing her cheek before she moved towards Andrew.

"I love you, dad," she said, wrapping her arms around both him and Stella before leaning in and whispering something in his ear that had Andrew chuckling and glancing my way.

Curious what was said, I made a mental note to ask Andrew later, but smiled as I watched them do their signature pinky twist. Andrew pushed Keely towards Ethan then and we all followed them outside. Ethan, ever the gentleman, opened the car door for Keely before rounding the hood to the driver's side. Andrew and I chatted with Steve and Lana for a few minutes after the kids left, reminiscing about how much they had grown and lamenting how few years we had left with them at home. Lana and Steve eventually bid us farewell, needing to go pick up their younger son from a friend's house and get him home for dinner.

Andrew and I moved inside, starting our own dinner prep. I set Stella in her highchair and set about prepping her dinner while Andrew pulled out ingredients for ours.

"So, what did Keely tell you earlier?" I asked, twisting open an apple and avocado puree pouch for Stella to start with while I made her some eggs.

"Oh just that I shouldn't worry because a certain former, and I quote, _badass FBI agent _has been teaching her self-defense," Andrew smirked, tossing some veggies in the skillet.

"She wanted to surprise you. We've been doing lessons in the basement anytime you have a late night at work. You're not mad, right?" I asked, biting my lip.

"On the contrary, I'm really glad she's doing some lessons with you," he assured, pecking my cheek. We finished prepping dinner in comfortable silence, then sat down on each side of Stella's high chair and took turns feeding her while munching on our own food.

**#### **

"So, what was Emily Prentiss like on prom night?" Andrew asked as we sunk into the couch, each with a glass of wine in hand.

"I never went." I answered honestly, though the look on Andrew's face told me he didn't believe it. "Really, I didn't. Prom wasn't a thing in Italy and when I got to the states I kind of just… stuck to myself," I shrugged.

Andrew frowned before pulling out his phone. A second later, music started playing over the speakers and Andrew set his wine glass down, reaching out a hand as he stood. I couldn't help but smile as I set my glass aside and took his hand, letting him pull me up and into his arms. Settling against him with ease, I wrapped one arm around his shoulder, the other still in his grasp, and laid my cheek against his shoulder, pressing my nose into the crook of his neck and inhaling the woodsy scent of his cologne.

One song flowed into a second and the two of us simply swayed along to the beat. When the third song ended, I pulled away just enough to look up into his eyes and whisper _I love you, _drawing a bright smile from him before he leaned down and pressed our lips together in a kiss that warmed me to my toes. It was one of those perfect moments that I wished I could stay in forever. Slow dancing in front of the fireplace with the man I loved, one daughter asleep upstairs and the other out at her first high school prom.


	33. Chapter 33

A/N: A day later than I hoped to get this up but I had a idea sent to me by a reader and wanted to incorporate some of that into the chapter. I hope I did it justice! Please feel free to send any ideas or requests of things you'd like to see in the story, I'm always happy to give new ideas a shot.

* * *

That summer was busy. Keely, though only going into her junior year, was already starting to think about college. When we took a trip to visit Andrew's sister and our BAU family in June, we made a day trip up north to visit both Cornell and Syracuse University. Neither Andrew nor I loved the idea of Keely being so far away, but we both wanted what was best for her and promised to support her.

When we got back to Denver after our east coast vacation, conditioning for volleyball had started up for Keely, in addition to the summer tennis tournaments she was playing in. Stella and I spent most of our summer days either out with Derek, Hank and Jace or at their pool, our spouses and Keely joining when they could. Stella grew like a weed that summer, shedding the remainder of her baby fat and officially morphing into a toddler. Her babbles became far more comprehensive words, which I attributed to her desire to mimic everything little Hank Morgan said and did – those two were peas in a pod.

On the second Saturday in July, Andrew left the house with our newly minted 16-year-old for her first driving lesson. The first several drives went well, including Keely's first highway drive. Days later, however, they returned from a parallel parking lesson both silent and fuming.

I raised a brow at Andrew as he approached and handed me the keys. "She's all yours," he said exasperatedly, holding his hands up in defeat.

Glancing at Keely, she held a pleading look in her eyes that told me all I needed to know. Without a word, I nodded and walked out to the car, climbing into the passenger seat and waiting for Keely to follow. Leaving Andrew with Stella, we embarked on take two of parallel parking lessons. Keely's first attempts were rough at best and I could see where she and Andrew probably started butting heads, but with a few tips, one being to simply take a breath and focus, she quickly started improving.

The night before school started, Andrew and I surprised Keely with a used slate grey Sonata. The excited scream she let out surely spooked the neighbors but the look on her face was worth it. She cried happy tears and enveloped Andrew and I in a hug filled with gratitude. It felt strange the next morning, Andrew staying at home a few minutes later than usual since he didn't have to drive Keely to school.

Slowly but surely, as warm weather faded and autumn came, we fell into a busy but happy rhythm. The first fall I'd been in Denver was spent acclimating to new territory and preparing for Stella's arrival. Last year, Andrew had been home for several weeks recovering from injuries sustained on the job. This year was different, normal, and I relished in the normalcy. I'd found a comfort in domestic life, in days spent chasing an ever-curious toddler, in nights checking over

Spanish homework and English papers, in weekend play dates and volleyball games and the occasional date night. Perhaps someday when Stella was in school, I'd go back to work, but for now I was content.

**####**

In mid-October, a wrench was thrown in our happy rhythm. Andrew came home early from work one day, a beautiful bouquet of orange daisies in hand. Glimpsing at the clock on the stove, I furrowed my brows in confusion.

"These are for you," he greeted as he approached me in the kitchen, handing me the bouquet and leaning down to peck my lips.

"Thank you! They're beautiful," I replied, inhaling the wonderful floral scent. Removing the cellophane, I quickly found a vase to put the flowers in and added some water, setting the arrangement on the kitchen island. "What's the occasion?" I finally asked, turning back to face him.

"For your birthday," he smiled.

"My birthday was a few days ago and both you and your daughter already spoiled me. What's the real reason?" I asked again, narrowing my eyes at him.

He sighed, reaching out for my hand and leading us to the couch. "A peace offering," he said as we sat.

"For?" I pushed, slowly getting perturbed by the lack of information he was giving.

"I'm going undercover," he started. My face immediately fell, hating the mere mention of such a thing. "It should only be for three weeks, max. I can't tell you the whole story but long story short I was mistaken for a different agent and I let it get to far and now… if there's any hope of this being successful it has to be me."

"I don't like it."

He frowned, squeezing my hand and rubbing his thumb along the top. "I know, I'm so sorry, love. I've been trying to find a way out, I have, but the higher ups want it done and I'm out of time."

I took a deep breath and thought for a long moment. "Ok," I finally said. "I know you, and I know the job, and I know you wouldn't be going if you had the choice. I don't want to make you feel more guilty about it but you better promise me you're coming home, unharmed."

"Three weeks, _max._ I promise." Tugging on the hand he was still holding, he pulled me closer, wrapping his arms around me. Sinking into his embrace, I sighed.

"When do you leave?"

"In the morning. Steve has set up an encrypted email that I should be able to access once or twice a week. He also promised to check in frequently, assure you I'm ok."

"Thank you," I smiled, curling in closer and turning my head to kiss his jaw.

Andrew broke the news to Keely over dinner that night. She took it surprisingly well, saying it would be like when he was still in DC, but requested a family movie night for his last night home. Andrew happily complied despite it being a school night, holding us all close as we settled in to watch Hook.

**####**

It had been nearly two weeks since Andrew left to go undercover. Keely seemed to take everything in stride and was extra helpful around the house. Her boyfriend Ethan was over more frequently, as well as Derek and rest of the Morgan crew, providing distraction from having Andrew gone. Stella asked for _my daddy _at some point almost every night but was young enough not to fully comprehend how much time had passed.

Andrew managed to send us messages a few times a week via the encrypted email Steve had set up and as promised Steve checked in every few days to ensure us that Andrew was fine and everything was on track with the op.

Running the household on my own was chaotic, at best, but the girls and I were making do. One evening after getting Stella to sleep, I flipped on the tv in the bedroom as I folded several loads of laundry. The Thomas Crown Affair happened to be playing, which was one of my favorite movies, but watching the tension and incredibly sexy love scenes between Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo was putting me in the mood. Barring the first two months after Stella's birth, this was the first time Andrew and I had gone more than a week without being together since I'd moved to Denver.

Eventually shutting the tv off and putting away the clean clothes, I crawled into bed. Falling asleep was easy enough after another busy week but my mind continued to torture me with x-rated dreams of my currently undercover secret agent man. Waking up to a slickness between my thighs, I gave up hope of trying to fall back asleep without getting off first. Reaching deep into my nightstand, I pulled out my trusty vibrator, hiked up my nightgown and went to work.

I was nearly there, moaning softly as the toy pulsated between my legs when I swore I heard a door open. Immediately turning off the vibrator, I tossed it to the side as I listened intently. Sure enough, I could hear the faint sounds of movement in the house. Keely was at a sleepover for the night and Stella wasn't old enough to be sneaking around. Instinctually reaching for the handgun in my nightstand and coming up empty, I silently cursed the fact that I was no longer a federal agent. Instead, I moved quietly to find Andrew's baseball bat from the closet before creeping out into the living room. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw a figure moving in the kitchen and was just about to speak up when said figure hit the light switch and set a bag down by the island.

"Andrew?" I hissed.

He quickly turned his head and furrowed his brow. "Emily?" He asked, looking from me to the wooden bat raised in my hands. I followed his faze, looking up at the bat and immediately setting it down against the couch, making my way over to him eagerly.

He circled his arms around me, holding me close and releasing a deep breath. "I missed you," I said, my voice muffled against his chest.

"I missed you, too, love." His voice was tired and I pulled away only enough to look up at him. He had dark bags under his eyes and his scruff was grown out longer than usual. Reaching a hand up to his cheek, I kissed him sweetly.

"You look exhausted," I whispered as we parted, rubbing my thumb against his cheekbone. He simply nodded. "Are you ok?"

"I am now," he smiled faintly. I could tell from his words that something hadn't gone as planned and desperately wanted to ask questions but I knew he needed rest. The important thing was that he was home and safe.

"Come on," I said, reaching for his hand and leading him to the bedroom. He shed the majority of his clothes, crawling into bed in just his boxers and t-shirt.

We both sighed contentedly as we settled into each other's arms, Andrew dropping a kiss to my hair as I rested my head against his chest. I'd entirely forgotten what I was doing before he got home until Andrew shifted, and then shifted again.

"Is everything ok?" I asked sleepily

"Yeah, I think I'm laying on something though," he said. As he reached under his back, it hit me what he would find. My eyes widened and I sat up, cringing as he pulled out the vibrator from underneath him. "My, my Mrs. Mendoza. Been busy while I was gone have we?" He teased, his voice suddenly light and filled with energy.

"I just… the Thomas Crown Affair was on earlier and… and then I had this dream and I just… and you weren't here and…" I fumbled, feeling guilty for having tried to get off when he surely hadn't had the same opportunity in the past 12 days.

"You're adorable," Andrew smirked.

I laughed, pushing him lightly for making fun of my rambling. "If it makes you feel better, I didn't finish. Got a little distracted by an intruder in my kitchen."

At that, Andrew immediately rolled us over, laying on top of me and holding himself up with one hand beside my head. Still holding the vibrator in his other hand, he trailed it slowly down my chest but didn't turn it on. "Do you want to get off?"

_Well damn, _I thought. I'd been content to go to sleep, simply happy to be in his arms again, knowing Andrew needed to rest. But now…

"Yes," I gasped as he clicked on the toy and moved it towards my center.

"You're so hot, baby. Missed you so much," Andrew whispered as he nipped at my earlobe.

"Mm, Andrew," I moaned, one hand gripping his bicep and the other the back of his neck to pull his lips to mine. With another click, the intensity of the vibrations increased and it didn't take long before stars were erupting behind my eyes. Andrew set the toy aside and stroked his hand along my hip and up my side as I caught my breath.

"I needed that," I sighed contentedly.

"Glad to be of assistance," Andrew smiled, pecking my lips before settling back down beside me.

I frowned. "What about you?

"You can make it up to me in the morning," Andrew replied, pulling the covers over us.

"You got it, baby." Snuggling back into his side, I held him close. "It's really good to have you home," I whispered as we drifted off to sleep.


End file.
